


OMG Cruise Please!

by 0xenfree



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Cruise Ship, Awkward Jack Zimmermann, Bisexual Jack Zimmermann, Chirping, Chirping as Flirting, Cruise Ships, Day At The Beach, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, First Kiss, First Meetings, Flirting, Holding Hands, Jack Zimmermann Didn't Go to Samwell, M/M, Masturbation, NHL Player Jack Zimmermann, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Alternating, POV Eric "Bitty" Bittle, POV Jack Zimmermann, Providence Falconers, Providence Falconers Player Jack Zimmermann, Samwell Men's Hockey, Slow Burn, Tags May Change, Travel, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-28
Updated: 2020-08-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 12:02:40
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 45,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24969388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0xenfree/pseuds/0xenfree
Summary: [ON HIATUS]When Ransom and Holster had first told him that they’d gotten him a ticket for a Summer cruise, he’d thought they’d been pulling his leg. However, they were quick to explain that sometime around January, they’d found a raffle for a cruise. A few months after entering though, Ransom found an email waiting for him saying that he’d won one of the three raffled tickets. When Bitty had been announced as the next year’s captain, both he and Holster agreed that Bitty should have something fun to do that Summer before going into his senior year.Jack knew from the start that joining the Falconers team was one of the best decisions he’d ever made, but now he was beginning to question if that was true or not. He’d made some amazing friends through the team, but as he boarded the ship, it occurred to him just how absurd this all really was. Who else’s friends would sign them up for a cruise without telling them?Check, Please! Cruise AU!Jack and Bitty both get coerced into taking a cruise during the Summer by their respective friend groups. Plenty of cruise shenanigans, tropical travel, and a whole lot of fluff.
Relationships: Eric "Bitty" Bittle & Jack Zimmermann, Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann
Comments: 19
Kudos: 86





	1. Day 0: Sailing Away!

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, y'all! First fic in this fandom and I'm so excited for it! This concept is something I've had for at least two years, though it was originally planned for another fandom. I recently took up fic writing again though, and this idea seemed so perfect for these characters! 
> 
> It's planned to be about 9 chapters long, but I'm seeing that I very much underestimated how long each chapter will be. This and the last one might be the shortest ones, fair warning! I'm going to try and update with one chapter per week, though I'd love to try and update as much as I can!
> 
> There will be eventual explicit smut but I'll give a warning for the chapters it's in! Expect very minimal angst but a whole lot of fluff and awkward boys!
> 
> Tumblr: 0xenfreee (Not super active but I'm always around ;))

Sitting there, waiting for his time to board the ship, Eric found it hard to believe that he was actually there. Actually about to get on a week-long cruise through the Caribbean. His family had never been one for big vacations, his only real travel experience before college consisting of visits with his extended family and a few weekend Disney World trips over the course of his childhood. Since then, he’d only had to fly between Madison and Samwell and go wherever the team’s games took them. Now though, he could start to say that he’d been out of the country! And all because of his ridiculous hockey team.

When Ransom and Holster had first told him that they’d gotten him a ticket for a Summer cruise, he’d thought they’d been pulling his leg. However, they were quick to explain that sometime around January, they’d found a raffle for a cruise. On a whim, they’d both entered it and convinced about half the team to enter it as well. Thinking back, Eric’s pretty sure he remembers overhearing some sort of conversation about it, but with those boys, half the time you never know what they’re on about.

A few months after entering though, Ransom found an email waiting for him saying that he’d won one of the three raffled tickets. At first, both Ransom and Holster had been hyped for winning, but they quickly realized they only had one ticket and that it would be hard for either of them to go anyways. Ransom had grad school to think about, still considering what he even wanted to do, and Holster had to get a job. In the meantime, the boys had hung onto the ticket until they thought of a way to use it. When Bitty had been announced as the next year’s captain, they both agreed that he should have something fun to do that Summer before going into his senior year. 

So, here he was, sitting in a cruise ship terminal in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, waiting to board a _week-long Caribbean cruise_ _that he’d gotten for free_. He could hardly be annoyed at the hour he’d already been waiting there, he was going on a cruise for fuck’s sake!

By the time he’d boarded the ship, and boy what a ginormous looking ship it was, it was getting close to 2:30 PM. He’d been told his room wouldn’t be ready for at least another hour, and his luggage unavailable for about t 3, but he had his backpack with his phone and ID. He’d just recently turned 21, and while he had attended many kegsters with copious amounts of alcohol, he could now legally buy his own. He’d saved up a little money earlier in the summer just for that reason, among others, and what better place than a cruise to indulge in it? He took the elevator straight up to the top deck, _Lido Deck_ as the map inside told him, and headed for the bar right across from the pool. 

. . **.** . .

As Jack boarded the large ship, he thought about all the choices he made up until then that led him here. He knew from the start that joining the Falconers team was one of the best decisions he’d ever made, but now he was beginning to question if that was true or not. He’d made some amazing friends through the team, however, it was was those same friends that had forced him into taking a cruise before their next season.

Around April, the boys had practically ambushed him, yelling about how he needed a break and how he never took time for himself. Which is why they had all pitched in to buy him a ticket for a Caribbean cruise that Summer. Tater had tackled him to the floor of the locker room after practice one day and complained, in his broken English, about how ‘Zimmboni always work too hard, even hockey robot need break sometimes.’ As the rest of the team gathered around a confused Jack, currently being crushed by a 240 pound Russian, he heard similar words from various guys. He noted both Snowy and Poots agreeing, hearing ‘C’mon Cap, it doesn’t hurt to take a break every once in a while’ and ‘Yeah! It’ll be fun, you could use a break Jack!’ respectively.

Once Tater finally let him stand, he’d forced the boys to explain exactly what the hell they were talking about. Marty and Thirdy both stepped forward, not trusting the rest of them to explain without talking over each other. They pulled Jack away from the crowd of athletes and explained that a couple of members from the team had tried to think of a way to help Jack destress after the season and agreed on sending him on a vacation. They’d all pitched in a little bit of money, which was no harm on anyone’s salaries, to sign him up for a cruise that July. They’d planned it just in case they made it to the playoffs, though they weren’t expecting to make it that far, in all honesty. 

At first, Jack had been vehemently against it. He told them all that they shouldn’t have done that; why waste their money on him when they had themselves and their own families they could spend it on? But they’d refuted all of his arguments saying it was all already paid for, and that the money was hardly an issue given what they all do for a living and the fact that at least four of them had pitched in equal amounts. He was still unconvinced and vowed to himself that he’d find a way to get out of it and send someone else.

However, as the season progressed and he thought about it more, the idea began to appeal to him. _It would_ , he mused, _be nice to get away for once_. He’d pretty much been stationary in Providence since he’d started with the Falcs, other than visits to his parents for holidays. He didn’t have many friends outside of hockey, and the only one he found worth visiting lived about an hour away. Stepping out of his routine would be strange, but he found that the idea didn’t bother him all too much. Routine had been a large part of his life for a while, but as he aged, he found it easier and easier to handle changes to it. Even if they were small, as they usually were, momentary alterations to his daily routine didn’t bother him as much as they used to.

As the date for the cruise approached, he let himself be excited about it. It was nice having something different to look forward to. He researched different things he could do in the spots they planned to visit and was pleased to find that on at least two of the islands, there was something else to do other than sit around on a beach all day. He’d found tours based around some of the islands’ histories and signed himself up immediately. It wasn’t that he wasn’t a fan of the beach, but staying sedentary for a week wasn’t something that appealed to Jack. One could always do to learn more, anyways.

Boarding the ship though, it occurred to him just how absurd this all really was. Who else’s friends would sign them up for a cruise without telling them?

The main level where they were all boarding was very crowded at the time. He never was a huge fan of crowds, and he hoped to god that his week wouldn’t be spent interacting with loads of people. He wasn’t a narcissist by any means, but he was aware that he was a professional athlete and well-known enough. Though, not everyone was a hockey fan, right? And there were plenty of people here that would have no clue who he was.

A pair of staircases led from that first, well technically third, level to the one above it, and he could see one more above that through the large chandelier that hung in the middle of the room. There was a small stage set up between the stairs, and a pair of closed glass doors behind them that he could see a series of tables through. Across from them was a group of elevators, and behind them, a flight of stairs that continued up and down. The whole space was open and well lit, regardless of the crowd. There were many groups of people -some small families, some large families, and a few couples- walking throughout the open area on all three different levels. 

He took a moment to step aside into a less crowded corner, rubbing his thumb against the edge of the keycard hanging from his neck to distract himself. He found a small lounge a little ways off from the elevators and took a seat in a slightly uncomfortable yet plush chair. It was tucked against the wall of the ship with a large porthole window looking outward, though only giving him a view of the cruise terminal. He let himself breathe for a moment, adjusting to the new place. His friends sent him here to have fun, and goddamnit he was going to have fun. It wouldn’t always be this crowded, he could still find time to work out, and he had read about plenty of things to do to stay occupied.

Jack smiled slightly to himself as he took out his phone, sending a text to their team group chat that he’d made it onto the ship and noting the time as 10 past 2 o’clock. He knew his teammates had done this with good intentions, only wanting to look after him. He couldn’t be upset about that.

 _Okay_ , he thought to himself, _You are going to enjoy yourself._ He stood up, surprisingly confident in that statement, and followed a small group onto an elevator. They looked a little bit younger than him, probably college students just finishing out their senior years. One of their group pressed a button for level 10, which read as the _Lido Deck_ on the elevator’s floor directory.

As he stepped out of the elevator lobby on the mid-level of the tenth deck, he felt like he had just walked into the showers of the Falcs’ locker room and had a wet towel thrown in his face. The air was hot and humid and he felt like he was already sweating. That was something he would have to get used to. He felt lucky that he’d worn only a t-shirt and already tucked his jacket away into his airplane bag, but he resented himself for passing on a pair of shorts.

He continued to walk out onto the deck and spotted a bar with some miraculously open seats. If he’d thought the ship’s lobby was crowded, then he had no words for what the Lido Deck was. It was, in fact, not one deck but two. The one he stood on was completely open; however, there was a second upper deck that seemed to wrap around the edges of the deck as well, providing a cover along the sides of his deck. There had to be hundreds of people moving about the two decks, at least half of them dressed in bathing suits, and many carrying some type of alcoholic drink.

A drink. That would be nice right about now. He hardly ever drank, usually only allowing himself one or two glasses of wine at team events and occasionally a beer at home. Now though, a beer would help him relax and get into a cruising mood, or so he expected.

He walked through the crowd, only slightly sparser where he was -the open space between one of the two bars and the pool- and sat himself down at the bar table. The seats seemed to be made out of cheap, faux leather, and the bar itself an imitation of bamboo. The counter was a slab of wood sealed with a layer of resin, though the edges were painted orange and decorated with engravings of leaves. It was like the smaller, tackier cousin of a tiki bar, but it seemed to have large amounts of alcohol on hand. 

Jack ordered himself something cheap, but alcoholic nonetheless. Once he had it in his hand, glass sweating and making a ring of water on the counter, he took a sip then let his head fall to his arms. The bartender paid him no mind, busy passing drinks to others who chose not to sit.

. . **.** . .

It was a small thing with about six seats up against it and seemed to be themed around something vaguely tropical, with a faux-grass thatched roof and bamboo siding. The seats looked to be made of red pleather, and there was already a man occupying one of them. He was tall with dark hair, Eric thought he looked somewhat familiar, and hunched over with his head resting on his arms, a sheen of sweat already coating the back of his neck.

 _Well_ , Bitty thought to himself, _Might as well chat up some of the locals._ He giggled at the thought and began to approach the bar. He slid into the seat next to the man, already feeling his legs sticking to the stool.

“Not used to this heat, hm?” He asked the man beside him, teasingly. While Eric could feel the heat of the afternoon, he found it similar to Summers in Georgia and nothing he couldn’t handle with ease. This other man though… It was clear he wasn’t used to Summers in the South if his attire alone was anything to go by.

When the man straightened up to look at him, Eric could see just how handsome this man was. His sweat-damp hair flopped over his forehead for a moment, before the man pushed it back. He had a sharp jawline and strong nose, and the brightest, bluest eyes he’d ever seen in his life. It was those eyes that tipped Eric off to who this man was, and why he looked so familiar: Jack Zimmermann, one of the alternate captains of the Providence Falconers. Eric barely registered the ‘Hm?’ from the man as he tried to mentally tell himself to channel his inner Nursey and, _stay calm, be chill_.

“Well, honey, you’re wearing jeans in 90-degree heat plus humidity. Not too hard to tell that you’re not quite used to this kind of weather.” It was true, Jack was dressed in a pair of jeans and a white t-shirt; not exactly the best outfit for the type of weather they were in. Bitty gave Jack a charming smile, hoping that it wasn’t too obvious that he was feeling a little starstruck. Not every day you meet a professional hockey player though, is it?

Jack huffed out a small laugh at the blond man who’d taken up residence beside him. “You can tell from just that?” Jack took in the man before him. He was short, well, shorter than Jack, but clearly athletically built. His honey hair caught the sunlight and made him look like he was almost glowing, and he had large, soft, brown eyes. In all honesty, he was very attractive, and his shorts did wonders to show off the muscles in his legs.

“Well,” Eric started again, “If not the clothes, then the accent would have done you in.” He threw in a little wink at the end and noticed a small blush rise to Jack’s cheeks. He stuck out his hand and introduced himself. “I’m Bitty. Or well, Eric. Eric Bittle, but my friends call me Bitty.” He blushed a little for stumbling over his words like that.

Jack smiled softly and took Eric’s hand. “I’m Jack. Um, Jack Zimmermann,” he threw the second sentence in at the last second, fitting in a bit awkwardly. As he shook Eric’s hand, Jack noticed a bit of roughness to it, some small calluses on his palms. “Nice to meet you, Eric. Or should I call you Bitty?” He asked as he withdrew his hand.

Eric shrugged and chuckled a little. “Either one is fine, Mr. Zimmermann.” Eric smiled warmly, still not completely believing who he’s having a conversation with.

“Please, just Jack,” he responded, returning the grin. “May I ask how exactly one ends up with that nickname? It can’t just be because you’re a little short.” Jack punched himself a little for that, he should know better than to draw attention to how someone looks. Though, Bitty didn’t seem to mind given the full-bodied laugh that had drawn from him. Jack couldn’t help but find that laugh something quite adorable.

“Well, I’m sure that had something to do with it, along with my last name. You know how hockey players are with their nicknames and all that. Our goalie’s called Chowder, and our captains from last year Ransom and Holster, if that tells you anything about our team’s nicknaming strategies.” Eric found himself enjoying the way Jack’s eyes lit up when he mentioned hockey. This man was already so different than the one he’d seen on television. There, he’d seemed monotone and almost lived up to his epithet of a ‘Hockey Robot,’ however, here, in front of Eric, Jack Zimmermann looked like any other person. He had a cute laugh and beautiful eyes that brightened at the mention of his favorite sport.

“You play hockey?” Jack couldn’t stop himself from asking, as soon as the word had come out of Eric’s mouth, he’d latched onto it. Eric nodded in response. “So do I!” Eric had an amused look on his face which took Jack a moment to understand. “Which… You probably knew, didn’t you?” _Holy fuck Jack, could you be any more awkward than you are right now?_ Jack was mentally kicking himself a little but noticed Eric’s shoulders shaking with barely-contained laughter. Jack shot him a questioning glance, trying not to let his own slightly-hurt feelings show.

Eric must have seen them anyways though because he was quick to reassure Jack that he wasn’t making fun of him. “Oh no, honey, I’m not laughing at you. It was just- That was adorable. You’re a whole lot different than you seem on TV, you know that?” Jack looked a bit sheepish now, his blush returning to his cheeks for what felt like the umpteenth time in the past ten minutes.

 _Adorable._ The word rang through his head. Eric thought he was adorable? Was he adorable? Surely not, he was a six-foot, 200-pound hockey player! Either way, Eric’s words still renewed the flush on his face. And what was that next? Eric had seen him on TV? He knew it only made sense given his history, but Jack could also tell that Eric was at least neutral about his team, if not a fan, given his reaction. He’d be willing to bet that an opposing team’s fan would not be calling him adorable right now.

“Hey,” Eric spoke softer than he had been, drawing Jack back to the present. He had a soft look back on his face. “How about I get myself something to drink and we go find ourselves a table to sit at. Get away from some of this noise, hm?” Jack took a sip of his beer, his first in a while, and nodded. Eric grinned back at him before turning back to the bartender. By the time Jack had scouted out an empty table just a little ways away from them, Eric had his own drink in hand. It was something pink -almost red- and fruity, though Jack wasn’t quite sure what.

Jack stepped off of his seat at the bar and started toward the table he’d spotted, quickly followed by Eric. They took their seats across from each other, blocked from the sun by the partial deck above them. Eric took a sip of his drink as Jack swallowed around an inexplicable nervousness that he chocked up to meeting a new person. He cleared his throat and spoke. “So, um, tell me some more about your team? Where do you go to school? They sound like an interesting bunch.” Jack offered a careful smile, trying to avoid his own awkwardness.

Bitty smiled brightly at Jack’s questions and started telling him all about Samwell, which Jack interrupted by saying that his mother went there, and how he lived about 45 minutes away from it. Jack sipped at his drink as he listened about Eric’s team: His captains who shared just about everything, his goalie that he treated as if he were his own son, their two D-men who fought about every little thing off the ice but were a duo to be feared on-ice.

Jack had to hold back from choking on his drink when Eric told him how his friends, the captains Ransom and Holster as he’d learned, had forced him to go on the cruise with the ticket they’d won. And when Jack explained how his teammates had basically done the same thing to him, Bitty found it hilarious how similar their stories were. The two continued to trade stories for the better part of an hour, staying at their table long after their drinks had gone dry.

Sitting there, just talking to each other, neither could understand how quickly the time had passed. They’d moved away from the bar around 3, but by the time either of them checked their phones again, it was approaching 4:30.

“Shit!” Eric exclaimed more out of surprise than worry when he noticed how fast time had passed. When Jack gave him a questioning look, he was quick to explain. “I hadn’t realized how fast the time passed. Y’know, it’s getting close to when we’re supposed to be taking off.” Jack responded with his own surprised look, Eric nodding along with him. “Why don’t we grab another drink and get out there,” Eric said, nodding toward the crowd of people filling out the open space on the deck. “There’s gonna be a party when we leave the port. Music, dancing, it’ll be fun!”

Eric seemed much more excited about the idea of a party than Jack was, but if he said it was going to be fun… Jack wanted to have fun. It was the one promise he’d been making himself from the minute he boarded the ship. He’d already _been_ having fun with Eric, and he desperately wanted to keep doing so.

Reluctantly agreeing, Jack nodded his head. “Okay, sure. Though I won’t take another drink, and I’m not much of a dancer, really.”

Eric gave him another dazzling grin, one of many that Jack had received that day. “Oh, well Mr. Zimmermann, I _am_ much of a dancer. I’ll teach you some moves.” Jack found it hard to explain why the wink that followed up Eric’s statement made his heart skip a beat in his chest. He assumed it to be anxiety over being pulled into a party.

When Eric had said he was a dancer, he hadn’t been lying, Jack realized. As the music blasted throughout the deck and the ship began its departure, Jack watched the small, blond man he’d befriended sway to the music and swing his hips to the beat. He looked so comfortable there, just dancing to the music without a care in the world, and Jack envied him a bit for it. Parties and crowds and music and dancing were never his forte, and the fact that someone could be so unaffected by their surroundings was strange to him.

Eric noticed Jack standing there, virtually unmoving, and frowned a bit. He didn’t want to make Jack uncomfortable, but the man was clearly still trying to get into the vibe of the party. Trying, but struggling. Unthinking, Eric took Jack’s hands in his and tugged him out of his stationary position. The taller man stumbled for a moment before regaining his footing, and once he did, Eric took that chance to start swaying him along in a mockery of dancing. 

Jack was unsteady as Eric tried to coerce him into a dance, but he tried his best to keep up the firecracker in front of him. Jack enjoyed how Eric smiled at him and his attempts at dancing, which only made him want to try better. He thought of how he’d seen his parents dance together before, and on impulse swung Eric into a twirl, just as he’d seen his father do with his mother. He caught Eric’s hand back in his at the end, and though he looked shocked, Jack could plainly see the pleased and excited look also captured on his face.

“I thought you said you weren’t much of a dancer, Mr. Zimmermann?” Was Eric really going to keep calling him that? Jack tilted his face down to hide a small smile and shook his head gently in hidden laughter.

“I’m not, really,” he said, turning his eyes back to the man before him. Eric gave him an amused but dubious look.

“Well, you clearly have a few more moves than you implied.” Eric smiled at Jack. He could feel the sweat sticking to his forehead, even more than he’d felt it while sitting out with Jack. “I think I’m all danced out. It’s too darn hot to be dancing with this many people.” Jack nodded in his agreement, a small look of relief washing over his face at the idea that he could get away from the party a bit. “I could really use a shower, but this was fun. Think I could catch you later, Jack?” Eric began to step aside from the crowd, back underneath the shade from the upper deck but on the opposite side of the ship that they’d been on earlier.

Jack found himself following but frowning at the idea of Eric leaving his side so soon. He’d only met him today, yet Jack felt a strong fondness for the man beginning to form. “Sure. But, um, do you- Do you think you’d like to join me for dinner?” Jack felt his nervousness return, similar to how he’d felt in the ship’s lobby earlier that day. “It’s just, I don’t really have anyone with me, and I’ve really enjoyed meeting you and getting to know you.” Jack knew he was beginning to ramble, but he felt he needed to explain himself as if that might convince Eric.

His rambles were unnecessary though, as Bitty was convinced as soon as the question had left his mouth. “I’d love to have dinner with you, Jack. I’ve enjoyed getting to know you too, in fact.” Their eyes met once more and Eric offered Jack a soft smile. “How about you send me a message and we can figure out the logistics later, hm?”

Jack was a bit confused but took out his phone anyways. “You have the cruise line app, hon?” Eric asked him. Jack shook his head no. He hadn’t even known there _was_ a cruise line app, which surprised him, given how much research he’d poured into the trip. “Oh, well, that won’t do. Can I see your phone for a sec?” Jack easily handed his phone over to Eric, who spent a minute installing the app to it. “There, go ahead and log yourself in then I’ll give you my contact number.”

Jack did as he was told, and soon, contact information was traded and both men were on their way to their rooms to rest and clean up before dinner.

. . **.** . .

Eric was thankful for the fact that he’d been able to take a shower and have a rest before meeting up with Jack for dinner. All that sun, heat, and dancing had really tired him out. He had slowly made it back to his room around five and was pleased to see his bags waiting for him outside the door. He’d showered and taken a nap for an hour before getting ready to meet up with Jack around seven. He hadn’t really known what to wear but decided on some shorts, not his short-shorts but a pair of suitable dinner length, and a snazzy short-sleeved button-down.

As he approached the restaurant they’d agreed on for the night, one of the three sit-downs of the ship, he saw Jack waiting for him. He was leaned up against the wall dressed in a pair of charcoal slacks that contoured his body beautifully and a pale blue, almost white, dress shirt with the top button undone. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows revealing what appeared to be some very strong forearms. Bitty couldn’t help himself as his eyes roamed over the tall drink of water that was Jack Zimmermann. If he’d found him attractive before, only seeing him on a screen, Eric could hardly say what he found him now.

Jack must have noticed him approaching though, as he smiled and waved Bitty over. Eric tried to lose the appreciative look his must have adorned at that point, if not to protect his pride then to save Jack from an awkward situation.

“Hey, Eric!” Jack stood from his position against the wall as soon as Eric was within earshot of him. He assumed a casual stance, his hands resting in his pockets as Eric came to a stop in front of him. The two looked at each other for a moment, both trying to take in how nicely the other had cleaned up while also maintaining the image of purely platonic interest. 

“So,” Jack began, clearing his throat as well as the silence, “Want to head in?” He nocked his head sideways, indicating the hostess’s post.

Eric replied with a simple, “Sure,” and within a matter of minutes, the pair were comfortably seated at a table for two beside a window looking out on the darkening sea. The restaurant Jack had chosen was seated in the aft of the ship on the fourth level, aptly named Seaview. Towards the back, there was a large glass window overlooking the ship’s wake where a party of at least 12 were seated. Jack and Eric had been directed to a much smaller table on the left side of the restaurant; private enough to hold a nice conversation but still open enough that it didn’t feel too intimate, something Eric was a bit thankful for.

Both men were quiet at first, each looking at their menus at the various food and drink options. Eric was the first to put his menu down, already having decided on his meal. He was unsurprised to see the abundance of seafood items, along with pasta and steak. All of the entrées looked nice enough, but he’d decided on an herb-crusted salmon with rice pilaf. He supposed he would also add in an appetizer, and was immediately drawn to the stuffed mushrooms he’d seen on the menu. He found it nice, being able to treat himself for once to what he hoped would be good food. Most likely better than the meals he and the boys ate most of the time.

Meanwhile, Jack was having a bit more difficulty in his decision. Sure, all of the food sounded pretty alright, but he’d always been a little picky and he had to think about his diet for hockey as well. A bit disappointed at their lack of chicken, at least without copious amounts of pasta and cheese, he decided on their steak option. It was rare that he would let himself indulge in red meats, preferring to opt for something a little leaner, but he wasn’t really in the mood for fish and he had to agree that it sounded pretty good. The short description beside it indicated it to be something garlic-y with roasted asparagus and fingerling potatoes.

Still wanting to get his chicken fix, Jack decided to throw in a pomegranate, feta, and grilled chicken salad they had listed. He’d never had pomegranate in a salad before, but it didn’t sound too bad. He’d be willing to try it, anyway.

Jack set his menu down after careful deliberation to take a sip of his water, only to find Eric watching him with a careful gaze. He managed to not choke on his drink before making an attempt at conversation. “Ehm, thank you… For joining me for dinner, Eric.” Jack tried for a smile, willing to bet that it looked as awkward as he felt.

Still, Bitty smiled at Jack’s attempt at small-talk. “Well of course. How could I say no to Mr. Jack Zimmermann?” Eric had been going for a joke, but at Jack’s frown, he realized he had to clear himself up. “Oh, hon, I would have said yes even if you weren’t an NHL hockey player. I really did enjoy talking to you earlier.” Jack nodded, blushing only a little bit. “Now, there’s a topic to discuss! I just about talked your ear off earlier about my team, so tell me a bit about yours, honey!”

Jack was taken aback for a moment at Eric’s sudden enthusiasm. “Well,” Jack began, feeling himself slip into his media persona, “They’re a great group of guys, for sure. All-around solid players who really support each other on the ice.” Jack was about to go on when Eric interrupted him.

“I didn’t mean tell me about the game, I meant tell me about the _team_. I’m not here to interview you, Mr. Zimmermann.” Eric threw Jack a raised eyebrow, smiling at him over the rim of his water glass.

Jack couldn’t help his slightly embarrassed look, it was a whole lot easier to say the simple hockey-robot answers that he always gave the media. He tried to think of a story about the team he could tell but was coming up just short of nothing. He could retell the story of how he’d ended up the cruise, as a start, he supposed. “Well, I think I already told you that it was my team who made me go on this.” Eric nodded his head as a yes. “But I don’t think I went into detail of how it went down.” Jack smiled to himself as he remembered Tater’s crushing weight on top of him.

Jack launched into the story, only being interrupted for a moment when their waiter came to take their orders and menus from them. By the time he’d finished relaying the tale to Eric, horrible Russian accent impression included, the blond man was giggling to himself.

“So Mashkov really took you to the floor?” Jack nodded in affirmation, which only sent Eric into another fit of giggles.

“I think it was their way of forcing me to listen to them? Though I would have anyway, I’m not _that_ cold. Who knows though, that’s really just how Tater is.” Eric smiled at him at that, which only encouraged Jack to keep telling small anecdotes from the Falcs’ locker room. Each time he told one, he would remember another, and hardly even realized how easy it had become to just talk to Eric. Jack talked through the time they were waiting for their appetizers, only slowing down a bit once the food was placed in front of them, and well through their entrées as well. 

Bitty was tickled by all of Jack’s stories of the pranks each of the Falconers played on each other, especially when Jack told him of his own that he’d played. He hadn’t pegged Jack as the type to prank, though maybe that’s why he found it especially funny. By the time both of them had finished their meals, Eric felt like he almost knew the entire team himself. He’d learned of Tater’s eating habits, something that the team nutritionist hated him for, and almost promised Jack then and there that he would bake something for Alexei to try. He’d also learned of how Marty had taken Jack under his wing as a rookie, and of all the chirps the team liked to target Poots with.

“Well, Jack, it sounds like your team is just about as great a group as mine. Just maybe with a few less crazy kegsters and alcohol consumption.” Jack smiled shyly, realizing only then how long he’d been talking for. “Would you be interested in any dessert? I’m sure this pie wouldn’t be anywhere near as good as mine, but this German chocolate cake sounds delicious.”

“I’ll pass on the dessert, but your pies? Do you bake?” Jack wasn’t really one for sweets, and even though it wasn’t preseason quite yet, he was still mindful of what he ate.

“Do I bake? Jack, if you’d met me in any other capacity, I’m sure you’d already know the answer to that. I’ve been baking since my mama let me hold a rolling pin. Honestly, I practically feed the whole team.” Jack smiled at that, Eric did seem to be the mother hen type and clearly loved his team with his whole being. “Our old Haus oven Betsy sadly passed away last year, God rest her soul, and let me tell you, when those boys got me a new over for my birthday? Tears.”

Almost too distracted by his emotions, it took Eric a minute before he even thought of it. “Jack! Oh my goodness! I need to bake you something when you get back to Providence! Gosh, I’m less than an hour away with Samwell, and it wouldn’t be the first time I sent baked goods through the mail if I sent you something from Georgia.”

Jack almost denied Eric’s offers of pie, but he feared he might get his head bitten off if he did with the way Eric was talking then. Even once the waiter returned with his final piece of their meal, Eric continued to talk about what he could bake Jack. 

“Oh Lord, look at me goin’ a mile a minute. And you might not even want anything after this trip either… Oh, Jack, I’m sorry for goin’ off on you there.” It might have been Jack’s imagination, but it almost seemed like Eric’s accent got thicker the more he talked.

“Eric, no, don’t worry. I, um, I would love to try your baking sometime.” Jack offered the blond man a reassuring smile, which Eric returned around the prongs of his fork with relieved eyes.

“Oh good, because after all that talk I was really looking forward to it.” The two sat in silence for a while as Eric worked through his dessert, offering Jack a bite with the promise that “Jack, this is so good, you absolutely have to try it.” It was good. Jack may have snuck another bite of it, but that would just have to be kept between him and Eric.

The waiter returned at the end of their meal to take the last plate as well as Eric’s room number for the glass of wine he’d had with dinner. While dinner came with the cruise, unfortunately, alcohol did not.

Jack and Bitty slowly made their way back to the restaurant’s entrance. “Um, Eric, I just wanted to thank you again for joining me,” Jack said as they walked through the emptying tables. “All day, you’ve treated me like I’m just a normal guy. It’s nice, you know? I don’t have many friends outside of the team, only one really, and everyone I meet who’s not on the team doesn’t treat me like you do.” Jack was growing embarrassed the more he spoke, but he felt like it was something he needed to say. It was true, after all. With everyone else he’d met, they’d always treated him with some kind of special care or standoffishness, whether that be because of his history or his moderate amount of fame.

“Well, Jack,” Eric began as they approached the elevators together, “You are just a normal guy. Just with a little more fame than some others,” he added with a wink as he pressed both of the up and down buttons. “And talking with you is easy. You’re a whole lot more interesting than you think.”

Eric gave Jack a gentle smile that he quickly returned. Bitty’s elevator arrived first, dinging to their left.

“Goodnight, Mr. Zimmermann,” Bitty said with a smile.

“Jack, please,” he said, rolling his eyes. “And goodnight, Eric.” Jack raised his hand in a small wave as he watched Eric step onto the elevator marked as going down.

“Bitty,” Eric said with his own wave as the doors shut between them.

 _Bitty_. Jack thought, as his own elevator appeared. He smiled. _Bitty._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this first chapter y'all! Let me know if you spot any errors or typos :)


	2. Day 1: Tacos at Mediterranean Avenue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The official first day of the cruise!
> 
> In this chapter!  
> -Irresistible breakfast buffet spreads  
> -Our beloved Shitty Knight  
> -Competitive shuffleboard player Jack  
> -Monopoly King Bitty  
> -Sooo much chirping, flirting, and fluff between the boys  
> -And plenty more!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all! Thanks for coming around for chapter two! This got a whole lot longer than I expected, but I can't resist writing all the fluff that comes to mind!
> 
> Still considering a beta writer, so hmu if you want! Or just come talk to me! Probably gonna start sending out little out of context paragraphs from the chapters as I write them too haha
> 
> Tumblr- 0xenfreee

It was a pleasure to be able to sleep in, even if just a little bit. Bitty never was a morning person, and even though he hated that it was only 9:00, a little bit of sleeping in was better than none. During the school year, he always had hockey practice or early classes that had him up sometimes before the sun had even fully risen. When he had neither, he was still living in a frat house where peace was never an option. He always hoped to get more sleep during the Summer, but he worked with a camp anyways. And while he loved the camp and his campers, he did not love having to get up early in order to get there on time. Plus, with Summers in Georgia, even sleeping in on weekends was difficult if he wanted to get a run or workout of any kind in. Or even if he wanted to wake up without being in a pool of his own sweat.

Bitty stretched with an exaggerated sigh, enjoying the quiet that he hardly ever had at the Haus. He swung himself out of bed to go through his morning routine, relieving himself then going through the morning portion of the skincare system he carefully constructed over the years to ensure that his skin stayed glowing. He hated to be a gay stereotype and spend so much work on his skin, but he hated to see his face in such disarray even more. The sweat of playing a sport practically daily plus the stress of school would have done horrors to him without it though. Not to mention the horrid eating habits pushed onto him by the boys... He considered a shower but decided that his hair looked good enough for the morning. Plus, he planned on going to the pool after breakfast which would only call for another shower. 

Satisfied with his appearance, Bitty grabbed his bag and made his way out of his room and to the elevators. He resented the fact that he was on the lowest stateroom floor of the ship, the second, but he supposed he couldn’t expect much more from a raffled cruise ticket. At least his room had a window.

The elevator traffic had slowed down numbers from the day before, and no longer were they packed to full capacity with guests. It stopped a couple of times on the way up to pick up some cruisers from other floors- a pair of kids from the third floor and a middle-aged couple from the seventh. He supposed he lucked out, landing himself a room in the aft of the ship, as it brought him directly up to the entrance of the buffet.

As soon as he stepped out of the cab, the smell of bacon and sweetness of syrup hit him. It made his mouth water and he realized how hungry he was, something he hadn’t noticed until then. He made a quick feat of entering the line and making his way through the length of the breakfast spread. He’d heard of how people could put on ten pounds from cruise food alone, but he hadn’t believed it until he reached the end of the spread.

It seemed almost impossible to choose what he wanted just from the sheer amount of food alone. He looked down at his plate piled high with bacon, sausage, potatoes, and eggs of at least three different styles. He resolved himself to get through his plate first before even beginning to look at anything else they had out. He noticed a shelf of breads and pastries too, though he would likely avoid them anyways when he could make his own perfectly well at home. Probably better, since he didn’t _have_ to bake them in a mass amount, simply by choice.

He located an empty table, which was no easy feat with how packed the area was, and sat himself down. He thought it may look a little awkward, him sitting alone at a table meant for two, but tried not to let himself feel strange about it. Instead, he tucked into the meal set before him.

By the time he was finished, he had no desire for pastries or breads of any kind. He realized his mistake in taking so much food at once about halfway through his plate, but he was hardly one to quit or waste food. He felt so full, it practically took all of his resolve to get himself to stand after a member of the cruise’s staff came by to take his plate. 

He hardly felt bad, either, as he made his way to the 18+ section of the Lido Deck to lay himself out on a lounge chair. He was in the middle of the deck, between the pool and the bar where there was enough open space to house about ten chairs. He thanked his self from half an hour before for having the insight to make up a bag with sunscreen, sunglasses, and a pair of swim shorts. It may be his inner mother hen, but after realizing how half of the Haus could barely prepare for anything, he began carrying a bag or backpack with him whenever their little group went out. Whether it was Ransom’s sunglasses or Chowder’s keys, there was always something forgotten. Really, the only one he trusted to look after themself was Lardo.

He dropped his bag, a fashionable, zippered, canvas tote decorated with a colorful floral pattern that he’d found while out with Lardo, at the end of his chair and took out his sunblock and glasses. He shucked his shirt to avoid the possibility of awkward tan lines and liberally applied the sunscreen before situating his glasses over his eyes and himself on the lounge. It hadn’t gotten up to the temperature of yesterday afternoon at only 10 in the morning, but the sun was creating a soothing warmth against Bitty’s skin.

He settled himself back into the chair and let the sun wash over him, relaxed by the faint sounds of the ocean and the music that was quietly playing in the area. It was easy to block out the leftover sounds of the kids in the pool in another area of the deck, and Bitty found himself easily appreciating the privacy and peace brought by the restricted area.

Bitty realized he must have dozed off at some point because the next time he checked his phone, an hour had passed him by. A smile graced his lips as he took in his surroundings and his eyes landed on none other than Jack Zimmermann, who was slowly walking along the deck and making his way in Bitty’s direction.

. . **.** . .

Jack had been spending his morning since breakfast exploring the large ship. He’d awoken at his usual time, 5:30, as his body was accustomed to a morning workout. He knew he would never make it back to sleep and decided to get up, brushing his hair and teeth and dressing simply in a Falcs t-shirt and grey running shorts. While most of his wardrobe was athletic clothes, he did have some specific items he wore exclusively for the act. Namely, his running shorts that hit his mid-thigh. He would never wear them except for running and could hardly imagine wearing anything that short outside of it. _Though_ , his brain supplied, _Eric had been wearing shorts about the same length, and he looked damn good in them._ He decided not to dwell on that thought, instead, shoving the lanyard with his room key into his pocket and making his way up to the top deck of the ship.

After dinner the previous night, Jack had gone back to his room but found that he had no clue what to do until sending himself to bed, which he was not ready to do yet. He was looking through his room for something to do and found a guide of the ship resting on the little desk in the corner of his room. He sat down and looked through it, noting the map of each deck and the small info-bubble that suggested checking out the app for information on the daily goings-on of the ship.

Right! The app, the same one that Eric had installed on his phone earlier that day. At first, he struggled to navigate the app, but soon figured out most of the mechanics of it. He was looking through some of the on-board activities to get an idea of something he could do for the next day and noticed a small section dedicated to fitness. He had hoped to find a way to keep up his exercise routine but hadn’t put much thought into how exactly to do so.

Reading through the fitness subsection, he noted the explanation of the jogging track that could be found on the eleventh deck. They had a small loop around the aft section of the deck, going behind the basketball court. They also had a gym in the forward of the tenth level, sharing a space with the ship’s spa. He’d have to check that out tomorrow.

He spent a good portion of the night reading about the different spaces on the ship and some of the activities they boasted, and decided that that’s what he would do with his day tomorrow. Exploring the ship would take up a good amount of time, and he supposed he could go from there deciding on what to do with the rest of it.

It was a short walk up the two flights of stairs from deck eight to deck ten, and an even shorter walk to get from the middle of deck ten to the aft of deck eleven. With the way the top deck was situated, the stairs and elevators in the midship only continued to the tenth level, allowing a large, simple loop of deck to surround the middle.

It was still quite dark when Jack made it outside, the sun not planning to rise for another good 45 minutes. This also meant that the deck was completely empty, aside from the few rare crew members bustling around. 

Jack watched his run tracker on his phone for the first loop to get an idea of how long it was, and it was unsurprisingly very short. He set a timer for a little under an hour and set off again on a slow jog, warming himself up before increasing his pace for the majority of his run. He considered that for a lot of people, running a continuous loop would easily get boring, but it was easy for Jack to get lost in the feel of his feet hitting the track and the familiar burn of the workout. Of course, he would much rather be on the streets of Providence or on a trail through the forest, but he was fairly accustomed to treadmills and small tracks as well.

When his alarm went off, he slowed himself to a walk to cool down as he checked his tracker. His math had been pretty spot on, having achieved his usual mileage. He was comfortable skipping out on weight training for the day, not wanting to walk into the gym for the first time sweating from his run.

As he walked around the track a few more times, he took in the sunrise around him. The horizon was lit up orange, reflecting off of the cerulean water, and the sparse clouds tinged a cotton candy pink. It was beautiful, to put it simply, and he wished he had his camera on him to take a picture. Settling for a simple phone shot, he captured it as well as he could. Tomorrow, he would have to come up again with it for when he finished running.

Jack made his way back down to his room to hop in the shower and change into clean clothing. It wasn’t overall too different from his earlier look, but he opted for some longer shorts and a plain black shirt. He hastily dried his hair, grabbed his phone and key card, and made his way back up to deck ten for breakfast. 

The breakfast spread was quite impressive, but he wouldn’t let his healthy diet be deterred by piles of greasy bacon and pastries. Though, he did allow himself two pieces of bacon alongside some turkey sausage links, making the argument of ‘protein’ to himself. He kept the rest of his meal to a heaping serving of scrambled eggs and a bowl of yogurt topped with blueberries and strawberries.

At seven AM, the tables in the buffet area were mostly clear, only a few people and small groups scattered throughout. Jack filled himself a glass of water and took a seat at a table looking out over the ocean. The wall facing away from the ship was practically all window, allowing for a nice view out to the water on the sides and back of the ship. 

He could appreciate the views that the ship provided. He was becoming very grateful that he decided to bring his camera along with him for the trip. The hobby was something he’d slowly picked up after joining the Falcs. It was simple and quiet and he could take it along with him on roadies. It wasn’t something that took up a lot of space unlike some other hobbies, and it had led him to begin appreciating more of what the world offered him. He’d spent so long of a time focused on hockey and hockey alone, and as he aged, he realized how much of the world he’d been missing because of it.

He briefly wondered how Eric would look through the lens of his camera… On the topic of Eric, or Bitty as he insisted Jack call him, Jack hoped that he would see him again soon. The previous day and night had been one of the best of his life, which felt strange to admit. Jack never was a fan of socializing, and it often caused him anxiety due to his sheer awkwardness and lack of experience. That said, he hadn’t felt that as much with Bitty. There were points where he’d felt awkward and anxious, usually when he thought Eric was laughing at him, but overall, it was pleasant to meet and get to know him.

It reminded him of when he’d met Shitty. Jack had met Shitty in an open history lecture at Brown a few years after signing with the Falconers. He’d loved history his entire life, often thinking that if he’d gone to college it would have been his major, and tried to keep up with the interest around his hockey career. Documentaries only taught so much, and when he could, Jack loved to sit in on lectures at the university. That one specifically had focused on women during World War II and the evolution of women within the workforce. He remembered sitting in one of the back rows of the room and the man who would later become his best friend that plopped himself down beside him.

“Dude, mind if I sit here?” Jack heard a voice ask from his right. He glanced up and found a mustachioed man with the most impressive mullet Jack had honestly ever seen. He also appeared to be rocking some socks and Birkenstocks with a semi-horribly clashing outfit of coral shorts and a Brown University sweatshirt. Out of politeness, Jack nodded slightly and gestured to the open seat beside him with his hand. 

The man smiled widely and sat down, throwing his bag on the desk in front of him. “Sick man, thanks!” He’d said. Jack had nodded once more and returned to looking down at his own hands, waiting for the lecture to begin. He’d been caught by surprise when the man spoke to him again. “Don’t talk much, huh? Well, the name’s Shitty, how do you do?” Jack turned to him and saw his hand stuck out, waiting for a shake.

Reluctantly, Jack took his hand and introduced himself. “Jack. And did you say your name was Shitty?” Jack was sure he had a confused look on his face, hardly believing that to be his name.

“Yes sir! Shitty Knight at your service.” The man grinned once more, his mustache twitching.

“That can’t possibly be your real name,” Jack said incredulously. What kind of parent named their kid that anyway?

“Oh hell no, but it’s what everyone calls me. It’s honestly better anyways. Than my given name, that is.” That was a bit strange to Jack. He’d never considered disliking his name, as much as he found his surname’s connection to his father with something left to be desired.

“What is it? Your given name?” Was that rude? Jack wasn’t sure, but he wasn’t sure he wanted to call a complete stranger ‘Shitty’ either.

“I don’t tell that to non-friends,” the man winked at him, “Guess you’ll have to befriend me if you want to find out.” This man was as strange as he was intriguing, Jack thought. They didn’t have much time to talk further though, as the lecturer had entered the room ready to begin.

Afterward though, Shitty had invited Jack for coffee to discuss the lecture. “C’mon man, I told you you gotta befriend me if you wanna know my name!” He’d said. And for some reason, Jack had agreed, which seemed to make Shitty absolutely giddy.

He’d led Jack to a little coffee shop near the lecture hall, him ordering some kind of exotic tea and Jack ordering a small, black coffee. As soon as the two were seated with their drinks, Shitty had jumped into a speech about how he was double majoring in political science and women’s gender and sexuality, though his parents had wanted him to go into economics. He’d heard about the lecture and jumped at it, explaining to Jack the importance of teaching how women affected history. 

While most people would probably find it annoying how much Shitty could take over a conversation, it was actually quite ideal for Jack. He was a terrible conversationalist, generally, aside from when discussing documentaries he’d watched or books he’d read. He was very content to sit by and let Shitty talk about his thoughts, putting in a word or two about a topic he specifically agreed with or had thoughts on. The two had wasted an hour in the shop discussing the lecture, and Jack had been surprised by how easy it was to engage with Shitty.

By the time they were done, Shitty had given Jack his number and coerced Jack’s out of him. Shitty had insisted they meet up again soon to talk more or maybe catch a movie.

A week later, Jack found himself awkwardly comforting a crying, drunken Shitty over baby penguins and accepted that that would be his life from then on.

Yes, Jack thought, Bitty and Shitty were very similar, which must have been why it was so easy to talk to Eric the previous night. Both had forced themself through his bubble of awkwardness and were happy to ramble about whatever they felt like while Jack sat and listened intently.

As he finished off his eggs, Jack hoped that he’d get to see Eric again that day. He knew he could message him, but Jack didn’t even know how to start something like that. Plus, he doubted Eric would even be awake yet at 7:30 in the morning.

Allowing his plate to be cleared, Jack stood himself up and began moving back towards the elevators outside of the buffet. Entering the cab and clicking the button for the third floor, Jack began his total exploration of the ship. 

Since he’d landed in the aft, having taken the elevator straight down from the buffet, there wasn’t much to be seen yet. He’d found the space dedicated to kids, a place he would avoid heavily, and further down the hall away from the elevators, the closed doors of a karaoke bar. He turned back around and passed by the elevators again, and found even more empty hallway. Through the large, round windows on his left, he could see the ocean sprawling for miles, and to his right, the curtained windows of the third-floor restaurant he’d seen the entrance to on the first day. The hallway exited out into the lobby, which was scarcely occupied by crew members and a few passengers drinking coffee in the armchairs scattered around the edges of the large room. All else he could find on the third floor was resident services and the sets of midship and forward elevators. 

On the fourth floor, it has still been mostly empty as it was occupied by three different bars, the restaurant he and Eric had dined in the night previously, and a casino stretching from the midship to the aft elevators. The fifth was about the same as the fifth, hosting a sushi bar, steakhouse, and game lounge, as well as another restaurant in the aft, the lower entrance to the stage in forward, and a pair of shops sitting right outside of it. As he moved up through the ship from there though, he began to notice more people.

On the sixth floor, he found the upper entrance to the stage with quite a few more shops stretching between it and the midship. While the couple on the deck below had been more high-end, carrying a small line of jewelry and clothing, the shops here seemed more tailored to the general population. He noticed a couple of people perusing the cruise line themed clothing as well as a few buying some toiletries and items they’d clearly forgotten to bring along. He duly noted the abundance of condoms available for purchase. The rest of the deck was filled with a small art gallery, photo development and purchasing area, and a comedy/nightclub situated in the aft.

Jack hadn’t realized how large cruise ships truly were, and was already feeling a bit of wear from his walks up and down three levels of the ship. Still, he passed through the next three levels, which only held rooms, until he reached the Lido Deck. He’d already become well acquainted with this deck, but hadn’t seen much other than the buffet and open seating area he’d passed through to get to the track that morning. 

He began in the aft, where he’d just been that morning for breakfast, and made his way to the front of the ship once more. Most of the Lido Deck was seating spaces with a couple of restaurants in the middle -a burger place, a pizzeria, and a taco place. Then, it was the bar where he and Eric had met, along with its twin sitting across from it, a bit more deck where he and Eric had danced, and the pool. A large screen forecasting the weather for that day sat above the pool.

The Lido Deck was probably where he saw the most amount of people, though that number was still quite low compared to the crowds of the day before. There were a few adults curled up in towels or blankets on the deck chairs, sipping at coffees and teas, and enjoying the calm while it lasted.

Further on, Jack found the 18+ pool and sitting area. It was also empty, as the bar was currently closed and the rest of the deck was quiet enough for it to not be needed. The pool there looked a whole lot nicer than the one on the main part of the deck, and he noticed two hot tubs flanking the sides of it. 

Feeling he had no need to continue onto the eleventh deck, having seen it that morning, Jack made his way back inside where he found the ship’s spa/gym. He _had_ told himself he would check out their gym, so he pushed through the clouded glass doors into the front room of the spa. It had a pleasant smell, something fresh tinged with eucalyptus, and the room was bright and welcoming.

He asked the woman sitting at the front desk about their gym, and she led him down a hallway into a large room situated at the very front of the ship. Like many other areas, it was practically all window, looking out onto the open sea. However, it was also filled with treadmills, weight machines, and stationary bikes, along with a few stand-alone pieces of workout equipment. There were a few men and women already making use of the room, and Jack knew he would be among them tomorrow.

Checking his phone, he was surprised to see it was already past nine. His walk through the ship had taken longer than expected, but he also had no clue what he wanted to do at that point. Feeling slightly defeated, Jack retreated once more to his room. If nothing else, he supposed he could find a movie to watch until it got closer to lunch.

And closer to lunch it got. Around eleven, Jack’s stomach had begun to rumble once more. It had been hours since he’d had his breakfast, and even though he really hadn’t done much that day, he supposed taking an hour-long walk through the ship was enough to work off some of that meal. Plus, he wasn’t meeting the usual caloric intake of his day to day life in Providence.

He thought about the couple of restaurants on the Lido Deck and supposed that a few chicken tacos wouldn’t stray too far from his meal plan. They would likely be fresher than what was being made en masse in the buffet, and if he was being honest with himself? Tacos sounded really good right about then. 

He got himself out of his bed, where he’d been laying for the past couple of hours watching the first thing he’d clicked on that sounded somewhat interesting. He was pretty sure it had something to do with a war, but he hadn’t quite been paying enough attention to tell much more than that.

He wasn’t very invested in the film and put it on pause, though he doubted he’d return to it later. Slipping on his shoes and grabbing his lanyard, he made his way up the stairs to the Lido Deck. For Jack’s room, it was about an equal distance from the forward and midship elevators and stairs. Briefly forgetting that it would be easier, in this case, to go for midship, he headed towards forward. It didn’t occur to him until he was on the stairs that he’d land back in front of the spa and have to walk through the adult-only pool zone to get to the taco stand, but when had a little extra walking ever hurt anyone?

Once he stepped outside, he noted that it hadn’t reached that same temperature as the day before, but he was still glad to be wearing shorts this time. Turning toward the deck and beginning to walk around the pool, he noticed a familiar head of golden hair resting on one of the deck lounges. Jack subconsciously slowed his stride in order to take in all of Eric’s body. He was laying there, looking completely relaxed, as the sun played off of his fair skin and hair. It was the first time he’d seen Bitty shirtless, and Jack could see all of the toned muscle that lied beneath his skin.

As he got a little closer, Eric sat up and lifted his sunglasses onto his head and made eye contact with Jack. Bitty smiled at Jack and waved him over to sit on his chair, moving his legs to make room for the taller man.

“Hey, Jack! What’re you up to this fine morning?” Bitty felt like he could hear the awkwardness in his voice, but Jack didn’t seem to register it as he sat down. He noted Jack’s change in attire from the day before and chuckled to himself, at least he wouldn’t be so hot. Or, really, was he hotter now? Bitty tried not to focus on Jack’s newly revealed leg muscles, which was truly a difficult feat.

“Oh, um, it’s been good!” Jack tried for a smile, slightly distracted by all of Eric’s revealed skin. He noticed a light smattering of freckles along Eric’s shoulders, which really shouldn’t be as cute as it was. “Went for a run when I got up. Then breakfast. That buffet is really quite something,” at which Eric nodded in understanding, “Looked around the ship a bit after that. You know, it’s a lot larger than you think.”

“Yeah?” Bitty smiled, it was nice hearing Jack talk so openly. He felt like he’d dominated the conversation for the most part other than through Jack’s stories the previous night. “Anything interesting you found?”

“Oh yeah, there’s a whole lot. An alarming amount of bars, but I suppose we shouldn’t expect anything but. Um, I found this game lounge I guess it was? But it also had this huge wall of books at the back. I wasn’t expecting such a library to be found on a cruise ship, but I feel like I have to check it out some time while we’re here.” Jack smiled sheepishly as his nerdy traits began to show themselves.

“Ooh, games? Like board games?” Bitty loved board games, though they could get a little crazy at the Haus. Lardo was insanely competitive, and a force to be reckoned with in Monopoly. Dex was, surprisingly, very good at card games, though they usually ended with him accusing Nursey of cheating. Random and Holster seemed to enjoy them, though they were always making up their own rules or mixing them up with other games.

Jack nodded. “Yeah, board games. There was also some shuffleboard outside on decks three and four.” Jack had never played, but it intrigued him in a strange way. It was something he wanted to try while he was there, at least.

“Shuffleboard? You wanna play, grandpa?” Bitty winked at Jack.

“Oh yeah, Bittle? I’d wipe the floor with you, no competition.” Jack stuck his tongue out, feeling a bit like a child.

“I’ll take that bet, thank you very much.” Eric turned his nose up petulantly, crossing his arms to play up the effect. He cracked an eye open to see an amused smile on Jack’s face, his goal achieved. “But wait, you’re like, a pro hockey player. Isn’t that, I don’t know, kind of cheating?”

Jack had to laugh. “Bittle, I’m pretty sure that hockey and shuffleboard are by no means similar.”

“Ooh, sticking with Bittle huh? Competitive now, are we Mr. Zimmermann?” Bitty dropped his arms, leaning his weight back on them and returning his gaze fully to Jack.

“Well, like you said. Pro hockey player.” Jack grinned at Eric, holding his gaze. The two quickly devolved to giggles though, Eric holding his hand over his mouth and Jack smiling back at him.

“Alright, Mr. Zimmermann, how about I hold you to that, eh?” Bitty smiled softly at Jack, though the giggles were still there in his speech.

Right then though, Jack’s stomach rumbled. Oh, right, he’d been there for lunch after all. “Um, can we get lunch first? I haven’t eaten since this morning.”

“Sure hon, though I doubt I’ll eat much. Had a big breakfast and it sounds like you got up a whole lot earlier than me.” Jack nodded briefly and stood. He waited by as Eric packed up his little bag, which Jack had noticed lying at his feet, and put his shirt back on. The cute, striped, tank top still revealed his shoulders though. Which Jack still thought were cute. _Fuck_ , what was it about this man that had him tearing down all of the walls he’d built up?

Jack didn’t think he’d found another man this interesting in _that way_ since, well, Kent. And even so, Jack could tell this was different than Kent. Eric was much more open than Kenny, and the two were bonding over things aside from hockey, which was honestly very nice. Jack didn’t feel the edge, he supposed, he’d felt with Kent. There wasn’t an underlying competitiveness between them. No harshness or fear with Eric. Jack briefly thought that he should be more careful with his feelings, but that was easier said than done. He was falling so hard for Eric. Was that what this was? Falling?

Jack’s thoughts were interrupted by the very thing they were occupied by. “Ready to go?” Eric had said, smiling up at Jack with his glasses still situated on his head, bag slung over his shoulder.

Jack nodded tersely, trying to shake himself out of his own head. He took the lead, Eric following him as he walked out of the 18+ deck and onto the main deck. He headed straight for the little cluster of restaurant stands that were clumped together at the midship beneath a covering of the upper deck’s walkway that stretched from the port to the starboard side. Eric trailed off of him, taking a seat at an empty table next to the edge of the deck, looking out at the water, and gave a thumbs-up to Jack. 

Since it was still pretty early, not even noon yet, the lines for food were still short. Jack was quickly through the line, coming out the other end with a plate of four tacos. Unsurprisingly, they were chicken. However, he _had_ briefly considered shrimp instead.

Jack took his seat across from Eric, who had been scrolling through something on his phone. As Jack worked through his meal, the two talked more about their interests, chirps being thrown in the whole way. Eric poked fun at Jack’s interest in history and photography, saying he ‘truly was an old man,’ but Jack defended himself by calling out Eric’s avid baking. If he was an old man, then Eric was a granny.

“Alright, Zimmermann,” Eric said once Jack was left with an empty plate, “Ready to get your ass kicked in shuffleboard?” Eric grinned devilishly at him, resting his chin on his hands.

“Oh, you’re on Bittle. You’ll be eating your words, I’ll tell you that.” Jack grinned back at him before standing, Bitty following him once more.

As it was, neither of them were all too good at shuffleboard. Turns out hockey skills really _didn’t_ help out Jack’s nor Bitty’s game. One the one hand, Bitty’s pucks stayed on the board while Jack consistently overshot his; however, Bitty’s only made it to the scoring side of the court about half of the time. They also realized neither of them was truly sure of the rules. Instead, they just tried to land their pucks in the highest number squares, and when that didn’t work, just knock the other’s pucks clean off the court. The latter was more of Jack’s strategy though, much to Eric’s annoyance.

“Okay Zimmermann, that’s the last one. Fuck you, you win asshole.” Bitty flipped Jack off, laughing, as Jack knocked his puck off of the court for the third time in a row. 

He felt his heart jump in his chest at Jack’s dashing smile and open laughter. He really was much different than the cameras portrayed him, and Bitty felt somewhat blessed to be getting to know _this_ Jack Zimmermann.

Over the short time he’d known the man, Eric felt like he was getting the raw, unhidden Jack Zimmermann experience. This wasn’t the hyper-focused, socially awkward hockey player he’d been used to previously. Well, at least not the hyper-focused hockey player. Jack could still be plenty awkward, but Bitty found it endearing. Plus, he couldn’t talk; he was acting all sorts of a fool around Jack.

Eric walked over to the rack on the wall and leaned his cue against it, Jack quickly following to do the same. Jack stood only a few inches away from Eric and looked down at him, a soft, close-lipped smile on his face. Eric’s breath caught and he quickly turned to hide his blushing face. 

“Well, come on then,” he called behind him, “Let’s go check out that game lounge of yours.” Eric marched confidently forward and back into the ship’s lobby, hearing Jack follow behind him. He was about to continue when he realized he wasn’t exactly sure where he was headed. He turned back to Jack, avoiding eye contact to hide a bit of his embarrassment.

At Jack’s obvious confusion, he confessed. “I’m not really sure where we’re going.” Jack’s resulting chuckle did nothing for his quickly-beating heart.

Jack nodded his head toward the staircase at the back of the lobby. “Deck five, follow me.” Eric nodded and followed behind Jack, steeling himself and picking his head back up. He had no need to get this flustered around Jack, even if he was super cute and Eric wanted to impress him and keep him interested. No matter. He would beat Jack’s ass at Sorry or something! Get him back for all the shit he’d pulled with shuffleboard, and he sure as hell won’t be laughing then!

By the time Jack led him to the lounge, Bitty was feeling back to his usual, confident self and totally ready to win these board games. He wasn’t the reining Haus Catan champion for nothing, after all. Those boys played too many games for their own good, but that just meant Eric would be totally prepared to destroy Jack at whatever game he chose.

Eric had to admit, the game lounge was absolutely adorable. All of the armchairs and loveseats were made of a soft, brown fabric and the modern, wooden tables scattered in front of them complimented the room nicely. All in all, it was a very homey area. And now, Eric could see what Jack had meant about the large collection of books. The shelves ran from floor to ceiling, wall to wall across the back of the little lounge. 

There was already another couple playing with a deck of cards off in the corner, and Bitty and Jack set up their residence at the large coffee table at the center of the room. Bitty pulled a pillow off of a recliner and sat himself on the floor in front of the table while Jack dug through a small stack of boardgames housed in a glass-front cabinet beside the bookcase.

Jack quickly returned holding a familiar green and blue box and a deck of playing cards. “How do you feel about monopoly?” He asked.

“I feel like you’re gonna be sorry you even tried to win.” Eric threw Jack a grin that he knew showed exactly how serious he was. Jack’s gentle laugh was the best reward Bitty could have gotten for it.

“Alright, then how about we start with some cards instead? Can’t have my pride be hurt just yet.” Eric giggled as Jack played along with him. “War?” Jack asked.

“Sure,” Eric nodded and Jack began to deal out their cards. Going as quickly as a game of war could, Jack ended up winning, much to Bitty’s chagrin. “That game’s pure luck, you didn’t win shit,” Bitty argued.

“Alright Bittle, if it helps you sleep at night,” Jack chirped back. Eric threw him a dirty look and pushed the cards aside, pulling the Monopoly box towards them.

“This is the game for real men. Though, Lardo’s the scariest player I know, so maybe that’s not true.” Bitty pondered it for a second before shrugging. “Well, we can’t really play with just us, you think those two will join?” Eric gestured to the couple, who were still at their own table in the corner, with his chin.

“Can’t hurt to ask, right?” Jack responded with a light shrug. Internally, he slightly hated that he might have to give up his private time with Bitty up, but he knew the man was right as well. It would be difficult to play alone, and it was clear that Bitty wanted to win _something_ against Jack.

Bitty nodded and called over to the couple, who seemed surprised to be spoken to but agreed to join them anyway. They quickly introduced themselves as Lucy and Stephan. The two newcomers settled down at the table, and soon, the game was underway. Bitty called dibs on the dog, claiming it to be the best piece, at which Lucy retaliated to by arguing the thimble was superior. Through their lighthearted argument, Jack chose the car and Stephan the top hat. 

Designating Jack as the banker, the second most intense Monopoly game Bitty had ever been in began. Hausgiving still took first place, as he was pretty sure this game wouldn’t result in Ransom crying on the floor and Lardo and Holster not speaking for two days. 

Bitty took tips from playing with Lardo though, investing his money early on in houses and hotels. Lucy aimed for a similar route, the two of them quickly forming a rivalry over the utilities spaces and railroads. Jack was much more conservative with his money, saving it from the beginning properties and spending it on the later ones, hoping he might get larger sums all at once instead of over time. Stephen seemed just happy to play between the three of them, not aiming for gold or glory.

After hours of buying and selling, arguments, trades, and barters, Eric was happy to announce himself the winner. Stephen had been the first one out, losing $500 to one of Bitty’s hotels, though he seemed perfectly content to play banker and cheer Lucy on from the sidelines. Jack went out second, in a similar fashion to Stephen. In the end, he’d forked over at least $1,000 to Bitty between the two turns leading to his demise. 

In an intense finale, trading excruciatingly large sums of colorful paper money between the final two, Lucy had a small bout of bad luck that led to Eric’s win. With a quick, victorious, “In your face, Zimmermann!” Bitty and Jack packed up the game and said goodbye to Lucy and Stephan. 

As Jack returned from replacing the games in the cabinet, Bitty regretfully told Jack that he should head back to his room for a while. Jack seemed a little deflated by Eric’s proposed retreat for the rest of the afternoon, but also like he understood. Eric didn’t say it, but he’d realized he hadn’t actually taken the shower he’d planned earlier that day, as he never made it to the pool. And if they were going to have dinner together again, as Bitty privately hoped they would, he would want to be looking his best. Now if only he could work up the nerve to ask… They’d gone last night and spent a good amount of the day together, so why did it feel so nerve-wracking to ask Jack to dinner again?

Thankfully for Eric, he didn’t have to ask in the first place. “Yeah, uh, sure! But, um, Eric?” Bitty raised his eyes to Jack’s face. “Do you, euh, do you think you’d like to have dinner again?” Eric beamed at Jack’s question.

“Of course honey, I’d love to! I was just about to ask the same thing.” Jack seemed pleasantly surprised, as if Eric would have said no to spending more time with him. They took a moment to make plans before making their way towards the elevators. Jack waved a goodbye to Eric as he began his way up the stairs to his own room, Bitty heading down.

As soon as Eric was back in his room, he jumped into the shower. He usually wasn’t a fan of soaps that weren’t his own, but the ones on the ship smelled like lemon and mint, and he had to say he _was_ a fan. It wasn’t until he’d thrown on a pair of worn-in sweats and a soft t-shirt that he noticed how hungry he was. He hadn’t gotten lunch when Jack had, and it had been hours since then, just after three o’clock.

Bitty really didn’t want to go find food, but he didn’t want to wait until dinner either. Was room service really something he wanted to spend money on? Deciding to look at the menu anyway, he was pleasantly surprised to find that they delivered pizza from Lido for free until 10 P.M. Lucky him.

He was also pleasantly surprised by how quickly it arrived after his call; it couldn’t have been more than 15 minutes.

Happily snacking on a slice of pepperoni pizza, Bitty flicked through the movies on the small television. There was quite a little collection going, and he decided on an animated film he’d seen countless times. It was something he didn’t have to pay too much attention to, but still an enjoyable background to his relaxing. It would still be about three hours before he and Jack met up for dinner, two and a half before he should start getting ready.

Eric took his time relaxing to try and turn off his excitement about dinner, and just his thoughts about Jack in general, but he couldn’t help his mind from going there. It was a little strange, he had to admit, how quickly they’d become drawn to each other. They’d hardly known each other for a full 24 hours but Bitty felt like he’d known Jack for ages. He supposed, when there wasn’t much else to do, it was easy to get to know someone when you spend entire days with them.

Bitty had felt a little guilty outright flirting with Jack at first, but when he started doing it back, Eric felt encouraged. They’d been chirping each other relentlessly too, but was there really a huge difference between flirting and chirping? Especially with how Jack blushed and stuttered when Bitty was extra flirty and/or chirpy. That was something he could guarantee never happened on the ice for Jack. Heck, even on camera. When he was awkward in front of reporters, it never came with that pink tinge to Jack’s cheeks and ears.

He could feel something beginning between him and Jack, from the first moment he’d met him, even. He wanted to make a move, but it still felt too early. And if it wasn’t, he still didn’t know how to even initiate that. Eric had never had a real relationship and all of the dates the boys set him up on never ended well. The most that had ever come out of a date for him, winter screw or otherwise, was some halfhearted kissing and one very forgettable handjob.

No, it really was a little too soon. Though, people did kiss after first dates. And hookup and have one-night stands. But Jack wasn’t just a hookup, Bitty was really starting to like him and wanted to leave a good impression. He would wait to do anything. That was a good plan, wait a little bit longer and really be sure. Wait, hang out with Jack, ???, profit. Or something like that.

Well, if he was waiting, no use in thinking about it then. Bitty definitively shut his fantasies down and focused back on his movie. He’ll watch the movie, get ready for dinner, then have a nice, tame, dinner with Jack. Maybe they could watch one of the ship’s shows after dinner? He’d seen that they had dance performances and such onboard, and he’d love to see what they did. He’ll ask Jack after dinner, but for now, movie.

. . **.** . .

Getting ready and going to dinner was a bit of a blur for Bitty if he was going to be honest. He was steadfast in his promise to not worry about making a move on Jack, but his focus on that distracted him from everything else and he was operating on autopilot. He trusted himself to make good fashion choices though, so at least he wasn’t worried about that. 

He had to focus a little more to guarantee he ended up at the right place, but otherwise, Bitty was still acting without full attention when he arrived at the restaurant. All of that went out the window though when he found Jack waiting for him once more. It seemed like Jack was constantly becoming more attractive every time they met up again, which was completely unfair. How was Eric supposed to keep his thoughts off of Jack and all of his hotness when he was standing there in his tailored pants and fitted shirts. All black, nonetheless, which everyone knew was the most attractive look. Lord, Eric would just about die if he saw him in a full suit waiting just for him.

Tonight, Jack’s back was slightly turned from him as he approached. While this meant Bitty wouldn’t see Jack’s adorable smile when he saw Eric walking towards him, it surely offered the most wonderful view of his ass. Eric was sure he knew now what Ransom and Holster were talking about when they mentioned hockey butts.

He cleared his throat so as not to spook Jack and spoke. “Hey, Jack!” And oh God, there went Bitty’s poor heart. As soon as he heard his name, Jack turned around and looked to Bitty with his bright smile and soft eyes. Eric was really doing a horrible job at this ‘not falling for a man he just met’ thing, wasn’t he?

“Hi, Eric. How was your afternoon?” Jack asked amicably. Eric responded simply, telling him that he didn’t do much, just ordered in some lunch for a snack and watched a movie. Jack nodded in understanding, which Eric took to mean he spent it in a similar fashion.

“Well, how about we get on in then? I’m sure you’re hungry,” Bitty offered quickly. Jack smiled and nodded again and the two moved toward the host. They were seated quickly once more, the ship really did have impeccable guest service, and handed menus to look over.

The restaurant they’d agreed on was in the aft of the ship again but on the fifth deck, right above the one from the night previous. This one though was called Keystone and had a menu with some clear French inspirations. The space was set up a bit differently as well, more closed off into smaller sections with walls and half-walls than Seaview had been. The ship seemed to have an affinity for one-word restaurant names. If he remembered correctly, the third large restaurant on the ship was called Chandelier’s.

At first, Eric balked at the sight of frog legs as an appetizer, but if they were on a menu, people must be fans right? He’d heard of it before, but certainly never tried it. _Might as well_ , he offered himself. He was still feeling a bit full from his late lunch and didn’t want to overfill from dinner and overlooked most of the main course meat choices. They did, however, have ratatouille as an option, which looked very promising.

When their waitress returned, he ordered his lighter meal, a little relieved he didn’t have to pronounce anything over the top French. Despite his semester of the language, his accent was atrocious. When Jack spoke though, Bitty felt butterflies in his stomach. It was hardly even that much French, but the way the dish names rolled off of Jack’s tongue had Eric feeling some sort of way. He’d known Jack spoke French, he could hear it in his accent, but had never heard it before then. When Jack offered to buy them both a glass of wine, all Bitty could do was nod his agreement.

Dinner was underway quickly, Jack beginning the conversation by thanking Bitty for joining him again, to which Eric said didn’t require a thank-you. The two chatted simply, and Eric couldn’t help but ask Jack about his French and his home. He seemed pleased to tell Eric all about Montreal and his childhood there. He told of his parents, whom Eric already knew of due to his mother’s slight obsession with Alicia Zimmermann and his aunt’s teenage infatuation with Bob Zimmermann. The way Jack talked about them was much different than his family though, and it was difficult for him to imagine “Four-time Stanley Cup winner, NHL legend Bad Bob Zimmermann” and “Jack’s dad who was a huge gossip and loved to bake but was terrible at it” as the same person.

Eric offered up some of his own stories of his childhood, most of them involving baking with his mother and Moomaw, before asking about Jack’s plans for the next day. They were stopping at Grand Turk for the day, and all Bitty planned was to spend the day on the beach, swimming and taking in the sun.

“Oh, um, I’m not really sure. It was the one day I couldn’t find much else to do other than spend time on the beach, and I’m not really a huge fan of the beach.” Eric hardly hid his shocked face and was quick to offer up spending the day together.

“Okay mister, you’re on a cruise through the Caribbean, so you basically have to visit the beach for at least one day. How about this, we meet up for breakfast then you can come with me to the beach. Promise it’ll be a whole lot more fun than going alone!” Jack looked a bit skeptical, but when Eric stuck his hand out to shake on the deal, Jack still took it.

Smiling brightly, Bitty and Jack agreed to meet up at the buffet at 8:30 and spend their time at the beach the next day. The rest of their dinner went with the same simple conversation, Jack only stealing a few bites of Eric’s soufflé at dessert. Bitty tried to swat his hands away, but he couldn’t blame Jack. The soufflé was delicious.

As the two stood to leave, Eric proposed his idea of catching a post-dinner show. “I just read somewhere that they have performances throughout the evening most nights, and it seemed like fun.” Jack nodded, agreeing. Bitty took out his phone to check the ship’s app for the performance schedule. “Aha! There’s a dance show starting at nine, so if we hurry, we should be able to get some good seats!”

The two quickly made their way to the front of the ship, luckily already on the same deck as the lower seating area of the stage. When they entered, the room was already quite full, but they found a couple of empty seats a few rows back from the left side of the stage. The area was large and open, the lower seating zone filled with individual leather chairs lined up in arcs around the room, a few lining the walls as well. The upper zone, accessible from deck six, had seating on the sides of the room in what looked to be more comparable to theatre chairs. Still quite nicely upholstered, though. Overall, the room was quite shadowy and lit softly with blue-tinted lights.

They took their seats, both foregoing the alcohol that seemed popular among the rest of the attendees. Eric felt like he’d be drinking a bit on the beach tomorrow anyways. They chatted quietly for a bit until the lights dimmed more and some spotlights shined down on the stage.

A couple of dancers made their way onto the stage, and the music quickly started up. Bitty was a fan from the start, the fast tempo of the music and beat of the drum in the background hitting his chest from the inside. The dancers moved together in synchronized ease, even as the songs switched between each other.

While the first couple of songs had remained upbeat and fast-paced, and the dancers moving accordingly, by the fourth or fifth song, the tempo had slowed. Only four dancers remained on the stage at that point, all moving together slowly to the romantic-sounding music. The general theme was something Latin-American, some songs with lyrics and others without, and it had taken a turn from the intensity of the beginning of the show to a more relaxed style of song.

Less focused on the dancers at that point, Bitty noticed how his and Jack’s knees were brushing against each other, and how their hands rested with hardly a centimeter of space between them. Feeling suddenly bold, Eric brushed his pinky finger against Jack’s, catching the man’s attention. He felt Jack’s eyes on him as he looked between their hands and Eric’s face. Jack smiled gently at Bitty before sliding half of his hand over Eric’s.

Bitty bit his lip and turned back to watch the dancers, blushing, but shifted his hand just enough to catch Jack’s fingers in his palm. He felt the heat of Jack’s palm resting on the back of his hand, a heavy yet pleasant weight. He should have known he couldn’t stick to not making a move, though it was truly the tamest move he could have ever made.

The two left their hands interlocked through the rest of the performance, it quickly having picked up the previous rapid pace. As the lights went up, signaling the end of the show, Eric released Jack’s hand. Though, he didn’t miss the faint blush coloring the man’s cheeks, and he was sure Jack wasn’t oblivious to his reddened face either.

They made their way in silence toward the forward elevator lobby, stopping once they were between the staircases and the elevators.

Eric spoke first. “Thanks, again, for dinner, Jack. I had a really good time tonight.” He offered up a small smile, which Jack returned. Eric’s breath caught in his throat when Jack reached out to take his hand.

“Me too, Eric. I- um, I’ve really enjoyed spending time with you,” he smiled awkwardly, “And I’m sure tomorrow will be great too.” 

Bitty’s heart swelled in his chest. Yes, tomorrow! He’d get to spend the whole day with Jack, and even get to see him in a swimsuit. How was he going to survive it?

He looked back to Jack’s eyes as the man squeezed his hand before letting it go. “I’m going to head out, but I’ll see you tomorrow, Eric.”

“Are you ever going to call me Bitty?” He was only half-joking, but it was a bit odd to be hearing ‘Eric’ so often.

Jack winked at him and his heart fluttered. “Doubt it. Goodnight, Eric.”

Bitty smiled as Jack retreated. “Goodnight! Remember, 8:30, I’ll be waiting!” Jack smiled again, waving and nodding his acknowledgment.

 _Lord_ , Bitty thought to himself as he made his own way back to his room, _That boy will be the death of me._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again for reading this! Before you ask, yes, I did, in fact, meticulously plan out each level of this cruise ship. Drawings included.
> 
> Anyways, I'm getting super excited for the next couple of chapters! They're filled to the brim with the cruise antics that no one asked for!
> 
> Let me know of any typos or errors! Thank you :)


	3. Day 2: The Beach Episode

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack and Bitty spend the day at the beach on Grand Turk. Yes, they are adorable and competitive dorks. Yes, there are dumb tourist t-shirts. And yes, Bitty finally tells SMH about who he's met on his trip.
> 
> There's also trivia that took way too much time to decide on questions for :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been so hyped for the beach chapter, but trivia chapter too?? I spent way too much time finding trivia questions and half of them aren't even in the story, but at least I know a bunch of random facts? There are also at least 3 different versions of the trivia game that I couldn't decide between :/ Bad Bob related questions were considered, but he didn't make the cut ;(
> 
> So sorry for posting later than my goal schedule, but that may be par for the course from here on out. Writing is hard sometimes even if you love it 😔
> 
> Hit me up at 0xenfreee on tumblr!

As he’d promised himself the day before, Jack went to the onboard gym after his run. It was nice to be able to stick to his usual lifting routine, even if he was in the off-season and stuck with something gentler. He’d also brought his camera along that morning when he went up to run, just on the chance the sunset would be as beautiful. It wasn’t, though, which was a bit disappointing. He’d have to catch one another day, or at least he hoped he would.

After his morning workout, he’d gone back to his room to shower and change clothes, and he realized how little variation in casual clothing he really owned. Most of it was exercise clothing, and what of it wasn’t consisted of t-shirts, jeans, and a couple of pairs of shorts. Maybe a thin jacket for when it was chilly, though he’d found little use for that so far. Almost none of it was as flattering as Bittle’s wardrobe, and he suddenly understood why his mother always wanted to take him shopping when she visited.

And on the note of Bittle, Jack’s thoughts led him, what the _fuck_ was last night? Dinner had gone perfectly casually, though Eric had looked beautiful as always, and Jack didn’t think he’d looked too bad himself. However, when he’d felt Bittle’s hand bump against his, and the small blush on his face when their fingers brushed, he hadn’t even thought twice about grabbing Eric’s hand.

It hadn’t looked like Bitty minded either, as his blush had only deepened and he’d held Jack’s hand tighter. It had been so warm, and he hadn’t regretted doing it for one second. He couldn't ignore how badly he wanted to do it again. Jack hoped nothing would be awkward that morning when they met for breakfast. 

Lucky for Jack, when he found Eric in the buffet, the blond man acted as if nothing had really happened. He didn’t act any different either, which was a relief. Bittle was still as chatty and kind to Jack as he’d been the days before, though he did get a slight blush to his face when he called Jack by the first pet name of the day. Jack tried not to focus too hard on it, fearing he’d do something again.

Bittle had messaged Jack as he walked up to the tenth deck, saying where he was sitting and waiting. At this time, the room was much more full than it had been when he’d gone for breakfast the previous day. It was almost fully packed, making it very loud and very busy. Jack might have been more uncomfortable if he wasn’t so focused on getting his food and finding Eric.

When he found the man, Eric was nibbling on a piece of bacon with his plate still mostly full. It charmed Jack that Bittle was waiting for his arrival before starting to eat. He’d also lucked out on a small table along the wall instead of in the middle of all the crowds. It didn’t have the nice view Jack had gotten the morning before, but there wasn’t much of a view to behold anyway since they were already docked.

“Hey, Bittle,” Jack said as he sat down. He was trying to call Eric by his nickname more, but ever since he called him Bittle during their game session, it had stuck in his head.

“Good morning, Jack!” Eric was as cheerful as always and dressed impeccably as always. 

In all the time Jack had seen him, he couldn’t think of any outfit that Bitty hadn’t looked good in. Whether it be a button-down or a t-shirt, he’d looked radiant. There was a small thought at the back of Jack’s head that wondered how Bittle would look in Jack’s jersey, but he shut that thought down quickly. That would be far too distracting to think about at the moment, but that wouldn’t stop him from coming back to it later… Privately.

“And really, Jack, are you ever going to call me Bitty? It’s been Eric, and now Bittle, the whole time we’ve known each other.” Eric didn’t actually look annoyed, which was reassuring, mostly just teasing. Jack could tease back, it was just chirping after all.

“Unlikely. I’m sorry, but it’s Eric and Bittle now.” Jack smiled at Eric, just to make sure the chirp translated correctly. If Bittle’s eye-roll and smile were anything to go by, it looked like it had.

“Fine, but that means you can’t call me out when I call you Mr. Zimmermann,” Eric argued. He was still teasing Jack, but it was all in good humor. It was easy to take Bittle’s chirps, and it reminded him of his team. Jack poked at his eggs with his fork, looking back up when he heard Eric’s quiet giggle.

“Unless,” Bittle began to speak again, and Jack didn’t like the look that had appeared in his eyes, “You have a hockey nickname that I don’t know about.” Bittle was looking at him with intense interest, making Jack squirm in his seat more than he should have.

“Well,” Jack began, “Tater likes to call me Zimmboni, but it hasn’t really caught on as much as he's hoped.” Eric giggled at that, nodding. He’d probably heard it a couple of times in some FalcsTV videos, which were practically all just Tater’s commentary. “And Shitty, that’s one of my friends, has a new one for me practically every day.”

“Okay, wait,” Bitty interrupted with a disbelieving look on his face, “Your friend’s name is _Shitty_?” Jack tried to cover up a laugh and the wide-eyed look on Eric’s face. Shitty tended to have that effect on people whenever Jack talked about him.

“Well, it’s not his real name no, but it is what everyone calls him. He won’t respond to anything else. Well, maybe ‘Shits’ too but otherwise nothing else.” Eric shook his head, chuckling to himself.

“Well, most of my friends have ridiculous nicknames too, so I can’t talk.” Jack smiled at Bittle again, and they both finally tucked into their meals properly. 

Breakfast went about the same as many of their other meals had; a few minutes of silent eating followed by more talking, chirping, and casual, not-well-hidden flirting repeated a few times over. 

By the time Bitty put his fork down for the last time, Jack was polishing off a bowl of cantaloupe. 

“So, what’s the plan?” Jack asked, looked back at Eric.

“Well, I was thinking we both head back to our rooms and get whatever we might need ready, then we can meet up on deck one around ten? I know that’s like an hour from now, but if we’re going to spend the day on the beach I don’t want us to tire out too early.” Jack nodded, ignoring how oddly nice it felt to be included in a ‘we’. 

“Sure, ten works for me. Are we going to be able to find space on the beach though? There are a lot of people and I saw at least one other ship docked.” Logically, Jack knew that they accounted for these things, but a little bit of worrying was in his nature.

“I’m sure we will. I did a little digging around and it looks like there are a bunch of chairs and umbrellas set up along the beach, and most of them are free to use. If not, then I have no issue laying out a towel in the sand, if you think you can handle the sun, Mr. Canada.” Eric winked teasingly at Jack, clearly having picked up on his lack of an affinity for high temperatures and beaches.

Jack just rolled his eyes at the chirp. “I’ll be fine, Eric. Meet on one at ten, yeah?” Eric nodded, Jack returning it.

With that, they both stood and made their way back out to the elevators and stairs. Jack smiled one last time before descending down the stairs. “I’ll see you soon, Bittle.”

. . **.** . .

Back in his room, Bitty packed up his tote with his glasses, sunscreen, and a towel. He also threw in a little extra money, thinking that he could do a bit of shopping. He’d told Ransom and Holster that he’d bring something from his trip back for them since they were the ones who had gotten him there in the first place. 

Breakfast with Jack had gone well, which pleased Bitty greatly. He’d been worried that Jack might act weird around him because of the previous night, so he tried his best to act normal. It seemed like Jack was okay with it as well though since he hadn’t acted weird at all. Maybe a little more blushy than usual when Bitty called him ‘hon’ or ‘sugar’, but nothing that shouted ‘I regret holding your hand and now everything is super awkward’ which was a win in Bitty’s book.

And holy cow, last night? Bitty had been taken a bit by surprise when Jack put his hand on his, but it was the best surprise he could have gotten. Neither of them was talking about it, but that was okay with Bitty since he didn’t know if he could handle that anyway.

When he’d gotten back to his room the night before, he’d flopped down on his bed and took a deep breath before squealing into his pillow. Jack! Had! Held! His! Hand! And Eric hadn’t even freaked out either, he’d just held it back. His hand had been so warm and big around his, and just thinking about it made Bitty turn pink and get butterflies in his stomach. 

Eric sighed, thinking about Jack and his gorgeous face and large, warm hands. Good Lord, how was he going to survive the beach with Jack? He’d had a similar thought the evening before, but now that the reality was approaching, it was getting harder for him to bear it. He’d already been shirtless in front of Jack, but that was before the man had held his hand. He thought he’d noticed Jack staring at him then, and maybe if he would be looking at Jack like that today, he could give him something to look at as well.

Bitty smirked to himself as he pulled out his shorter pair of swim shorts. It was weird to Eric, how one second he could be a blushing, flustered mess about Jack and the next he could be wanting to put his ass and legs on full display for him, but he’d always been a mix of ill-timed confidence and nerves. Plus, he and Ransom had been doing a squat routine for most of the year, and Eric kind of wanted to show off his profit.

It’s not like the shorts were indecent anyway, they came down to his upper-thigh and he definitely owned something shorter. Without giving himself a chance to debate it more, Eric pulled on the blue and white shorts. He threw a white Samwell t-shirt-turned-tank on as well, the sleeves having been cut off by Holster during one kegster or another.

There was still a little bit of time before ten, so Bitty flopped down on his bed and pulled out his phone. He was pleased to see that, since they were docked, he could connect to proper WiFi. He couldn’t get any while they were moving, but he could connect when the ship was docked somewhere.

He briefly read through the Samwell chat. Not much had been gotten up to, most of the chat was filled with Holster and Ransom complaining about work and the idea of further schooling. Chowder was all over the place, as usual, with his pure energy and excitement over everything. There was a brief time where Dex and Nursey had been arguing, though, over what, Bitty did not know.

He sent them a message, and Chowder was the first to respond. His first couple of texts were just exclamation points and emojis. Soon though, most of the chat was in and asking how his trip was going so far. He told them his plans for the beach and vaguely about his past couple of days, but he left specific mentions of Jack out of it for the time being.

He spent a little more time checking his Twitter and Instagram, even as slow-loading as the pages were on the ship’s WiFi. Soon, however, it was five to ten.

Bitty grabbed his bag, double-checking he had everything he needed, slipped on his lanyard and flip-flops, and headed down to the midship of deck one.

When he got down to the embarking/disembarking area, Bitty was surprised to see it a little less crowded than he expected. Even if it hadn’t been, it would still have been easy to find Jack in the crowd. That man was _tall_.

He was standing off to the side near one of the walls dressed more casually than how Bitty usually found him like this. He was wearing black board shorts, a non-descript, blue t-shirt that hugged his torso beautifully, and a baseball cap pulled down over his forehead. He had a towel slung over his shoulder as well, and was looking down at his phone with a smile that looked a little bit annoyed. If Bitty had to guess, he’d place his bet that it was this ‘Shitty’ character he’d heard about.

When he saw Eric approach, Jack turned that smile up to him but lost the annoyed undertone.

“Ready to go?” He asked Jack. The man nodded in response, slipping his phone into a tiny backpack slung on his shoulder, and the two made their way off of the ship, passing through security quickly. 

It was a small walk along the concrete dock to the actual beach, and Bitty looked out at the water on both sides of them. The ocean was incredibly blue and clear enough to see the bottom. There were already quite a few people filling up the beach and the water, but there was still area yet to be occupied. As Bitty looked out at the water, he missed Jack smiling down softly at him. 

When Eric looked back toward Jack, the taller quickly averted his eyes. “Isn’t it beautiful Jack?” He glanced down at Bitty, and smiled gently, nodding. _Not as beautiful as you_ , Jack’s mind supplied him. The sun, already high in the sky, shone off of Eric’s hair and added a glow to his skin. He looked like he had when Jack watched him tanning by the pool the other day, only with a bigger smile and brightness to his eyes that Jack hadn’t been able to see the other time.

The duo passed through the small port terminal and exited back out into the sun. The area was filled with cobblestone and concrete paths, one leading to the beach only a few feet away, and the other leading further into the island where they could see a few small shops.

While Jack was busy taking in his surroundings, Bitty grabbed him by the wrist and started pulling him along toward the sand. Jack stumbled for a moment from the unexpected pull but looked down to see Eric grinning at him. Jack huffed out a small laugh as Eric set forward on a determined path.

Bitty quickly scouted out two beach lounges and led Jack along, his hand still tight on the man’s wrist, only letting go once they stopped in front of the chairs to drop their belongings down. He hadn’t thought much before touching Jack, it had just seemed the natural thing to do.

“Alright,” Bitty, said, turning toward Jack, “I say we go for a swim for a bit, then we can sit out for a while or grab some lunch. Sound good to you?” Bitty was already pulling off his shirt and digging around in his bag for sunscreen. 

Jack forced himself to tear his eyes away from Bittle’s newly exposed skin. “Oh, well, I was just planning to sit here and do some reading.” Jack sat down next to his backpack, unzipping it and pulling out a worn copy of _Night_.

Bitty gave Jack a look of disbelief, pausing his movements. “Jack, you cannot be serious. You’re just going to sit on this beautiful beach and _read_?” Jack only shrugged, which seemed to exasperate Bittle even more. “Okay no. You,” he pointed at Jack, “Are going to come swim with me, and then you can read to your heart’s content. I can just take a nap or something for an hour, this weather is amazing.”

Jack gave Eric a pleading look, but the man stood his ground. He even had his hands on his hips. Jack sighed in defeat, putting his book away and getting to his feet once more. Eric smiled, clearly pleased, and Jack only rolled his eyes as he tugged his shirt off. 

He waited patiently as Eric rubbed on his sunscreen and slipped his sunglasses onto his head, flipping his croakie behind his neck. Jack gave him a look of a silent ‘ready?’ Eric was not ready, quickly noticing Jack’s lack of sun protection.

“Good Lord, Jack, you are going to burn to a crisp without sunscreen.” Bitty tossed the bottle at Jack, which hit him in the chest before falling into his hands. “Well go on then, you’ve gotta protect that beautiful Canadian skin.” Jack felt his face flush at Eric’s wink and offhanded compliment. He complied, feeling the weight of Bitty’s eyes on him.

Bitty let his eyes roam over Jack’s muscled torso. Christ on a cracker did the NHL do him well. He knew his own body was nothing to sneeze at, but it hardly compared to Jack’s broad, muscular chest or his gently defined abs. He would love to feel that against him. Apparently, Bitty _also_ felt like being a little shit that day, given what he said next.

“Here, Jack, turn around and let me get your back.” Eric smiled sweetly at Jack, who only swallowed and nodded. As soon as he had his hands on Jack’s back though, he knew that he’d made a mistake. There was a difference between looking and touching, and that difference was that touching Jack was even hotter than just looking at him. He tried to focus on the task at hand, but it was incredibly difficult to ignore the feeling of firm, taut muscle under his hands.

Jack, which Bitty could not see, wasn’t in much of a better state. Like the rest of him had been, Bittle’s hands were warm and soft on his skin. Jack had to bite his lip just to be sure no embarrassing sounds came out as Eric worked the cream over his back and shoulders. He’d never thought of putting on sunscreen as a sensual thing before, but that’s all it really could be at that point. It was a miracle by definition that Jack wasn’t getting hard. Or at least not completely.

Both men tried to get themselves under control without drawing attention from the other as Eric finished up. Jack cleared his throat before speaking. “Euh, thanks, Bittle.” Jack didn’t dare look at him yet, fearing that Eric might notice the want in his eyes.

“Yeah,” Bitty said, hoping he didn’t sound too breathless, “No problem.” He swallowed thickly before speaking again. “How about we uh, go get in the water? It looked really nice.” Bitty trailed off at the end a little bit, still reeling from having his hands all over Jack’s body.

Jack nodded, standing, and Bitty followed him. They walked quietly, feeling a bit of tension between them. It was quickly broken, however, when Eric hit Jack in the arm yelling “Race you!” and running off toward the water.

Jack was kicked into high gear, grinning and chasing Bitty down the short way from the beach into the ocean. Of course, Eric was in first, but Jack quickly caught up and ran into the water after him. He was surprised by how warm it was, only used to colder water up north.

He found Bittle smiling brightly up at him, rib-deep in the crystal blue water. Jack smiled gently back down, but soon found himself soaked and spitting out salt. 

The son of a bitch splashed him! 

As innocent-looking as Bittle was, he was a devious little fucker. Jack was about to retaliate when he found himself blinking saltwater out of his eyes once more. 

“Oh, it’s on now, Bittle.” Jack lunged at Eric, hearing a squeal of excitement, and possibly a little fear, from the smaller man. Bittle splashed at him again, but this time, Jack was ready for it and caught Eric with his own wave.

Bitty began retreating, trying to escape Jack by quickly swimming away into deeper water. He hardly looked back but could hear Jack laughing and chasing after him. By the time he paused to see how far he’d gotten from the bigger man, he found no sexy Canadians in sight.

Suddenly though, he felt his legs swept from beneath his body and was given a split second to close his eyes before getting dunked underwater. He came up sputtering and spitting out a mouthful of salt and sand, only to be met with a beautiful sight. Jack was chuckling, his hair slicked back from the water, with the sun bouncing off of his shoulders. Bitty traced a droplet as it dripped down Jack’s jaw and felt his face heat up just a little.

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.” Eric pouted jokingly, his lips turning up into a smile after only a second. “Looks like the beach is fun after all, huh?” Jack shrugged once more, but the smile on his face told Bitty his real answer. Eric flicked a little bit of water back at Jack before swimming off.

The two spent about an hour in the water engaging in more splash battles and chasing each other around the sectioned off bit of water. Jack proposed a race from one end of the swimming zone to the other, which Bitty gladly accepted. 

“What do I get if I win, hm?” Bitty teased him. He really didn’t expect anything, but free stuff was free stuff.

“I’ll buy you a drink, how about that?” Jack offered. Eric considered it for a moment before nodding in acceptance. “And what if I win?”

“What do you mean ‘if you win?’” Jack threw Eric a raised eyebrow. The blond man rolled his eyes. “Alright fine, how about I let you get to your book.”

Jack agreed and counted down for the race while Eric made sure his glasses wouldn’t slip off

He technically won, but he still bought Bittle a drink.

. . **.** . .

Bitty stretched as he came back to full consciousness. It wasn’t sunny under the green umbrella beside his chair, but it was still warm. It was by no means quiet either, but he’d still been lulled to sleep by the sound of the beach. He’d gotten used to sleeping in loud places; God knows his boys had no idea how to be quiet.

He turned his head to watch Jack, who was still engrossed in his book. Though, it looked like he was getting close to the end of it. It was almost entrancing, how Jack focused his gaze so intently on the thin paperback. He felt himself wanting to be on the other side of that gaze instead.

Jack must have noticed him waking back up, as he slipped a bookmark between the pages and set the book beside him.

“How do you feel about finding something to eat?” Eric asked. He checked his phone for the time and noticed it was about noon. He also noticed a slight tightness in his stomach, clearly hungry.

“Sure, I could eat.” Both men slipped their shoes back on, shirts having returned after their swim.

They grabbed their bags, leaving their towels on the chairs, and headed back up toward the walkway. It wasn’t much of a distance before finding multiple restaurants packed along the edge of the beach. They ducked into one that looked slightly less busy, but the crowd was inevitable.

Still, it wasn’t too long before they were seated. Not much after that, they had plates of sandwiches and a mountain of nachos before them, as insisted on by Bitty.

Jack chuckled to himself at the nachos, pulling out his phone. Eric quirked an eyebrow at him in question. Jack snapped the picture before answering.

“I was just thinking that Shitty would love these.” Eric smiled, enjoying hearing Jack talk about his friend.

“Honestly, so would Ransom and Holster. Heck, I could see Lardo downing an entire plate herself.” Bitty giggled at the thought, pulling out his own phone for a picture, and Jack smiled.

“Tell me more about them. I know I’ve heard a lot of stories, but I’m sure there are more,” Jack urged. 

“Oh goodness, I don’t even know what else to say, those boys are too much.” Eric pulled up his camera roll to find some good pictures to show off, finding plenty from graduation, kegsters, and game nights in the living room.

He chuckled at a picture of the third type, telling Jack all about Ransom’s hockey-boner for Mashkov. That's all it could be called, really. The man had a shrine dedicated to him in the corner of the attic. Bitty was rewarded with soft laughter from Jack, a sound made deep in his chest.

“I’m sure Tater would find that hilarious,” Jack assured him.

“Oh my god,” Bitty said out loud, “I bet they would go bonkers if they knew who I was with right now.” Jack chuckled, fully believing Bitty in that they would. 

“Take a picture then, in case they don’t believe you.” Jack wasn’t sure where the offer came from, he’d usually be a little uncomfortable at being shown off to someone’s friends, but he knew Bittle wasn’t doing it for clout or anything like that.

“Oh, Jack, I couldn’t just do that. You’re not just something for me to show off.” Which was exactly why Jack wanted Bittle to do it.

“Well, I don’t really mind. But if not for them, then just for you?” Jack _really_ didn’t know where that offer came from, but he found himself wanting Eric to remember him. He didn’t know if Bittle would want to stay in touch after the cruise, as much as he hoped they would.

Bitty smiled softly. “Okay then.” He shifted in his seat so that he and Jack would be in the same shot and turned on his front camera. He took a couple of pictures to make sure he got a good one, Jack smiling gently but brightly behind him.

Jack wanted to see them after and casually asked Bitty to send them to him later. If that wasn’t a smooth way to get Bittle’s number, Jack didn’t know what was. Eric quickly agreed, adding Jack’s number and letting the pictures queue up in his messages to send once he had the ship's WiFi again.

The two continued through their lunch quickly, both practically inhaling their sandwiches. Jack insisted on paying for both of them, much to Bitty’s annoyance, but promised to let Eric pay for their next lunch. The fact that Jack _wanted_ a ‘next lunch’ was almost enough to make him forget it all anyway.

They were walking back out onto the street when a brightly colored storefront caught Bitty’s attention. From the looks of it, it was a clothing store, with a mix of things targeted at tourists and actual fashion. The mannequins in the store’s windows showed off various t-shirts and bags themed around the island, but more importantly, they wore big, floppy sunhats. The thought of Jack Zimmermann in a hat like that was enough to make Bitty take him by the wrist again and start pulling him in the direction of the shop cluster.

“Bittle?” Jack sounded surprised, but not annoyed. “Where are we going?” Bitty looked behind himself up at Jack and smiled deviously.

“We,” he paused for effect, “Are going shopping.” He heard Jack chuckle but he didn’t argue or try to pull away. 

Bitty led them into the first store he’d seen from the restaurant’s entrance. It was small, and he planned to check out multiple stores while they were there, but it still looked like it had plenty to offer. He’d let go of Jack’s arm once they entered the store, which he was beginning to regret as he missed the warmth of it.

Jack followed Bitty around the small store, not interested in shopping for himself but more than willing to accompany Eric. It was cute, watching Eric walk around the shop muttering to himself about what he saw. Jack was pretty sure he heard something about Bitty wanting to find matching t-shirts for Ransom and Holster.

He was focused on some little pieces of glass jewelry when he heard Eric’s loud gasp of “These are perfect!” Jack turned around to find Bittle holding two sleeveless shirts, both incredibly brightly colored. They were emblazoned with a silhouette of a palm tree on a beach, identical other than the words across their fronts. They were clearly meant to match, yet one had ‘He’s my beach’ written on it while the other said ‘I’m his beach’ instead.

Jack cracked a smile and started to laugh, which caught Eric’s attention. Bittle gave him a look but had a smile of his own on his face. “Now don’t you start, Mr. Zimmermann. You sure won’t be laughing when I find you something like this too.” Jack raised his hands in surrender, but the smile stayed.

Jack looked through the rack as Bitty walked off to another part of the store. He found a bright pink, thin-strapped tank with ‘Don’t be a Salty Beach’ written across the front, a margarita glass and palm tree pictured beside it. His mind immediately went to Shitty, and he smiled slightly to himself as he walked up to buy it. If Eric was buying things for his friends, he may as well do the same. He could practically see Shitty’s tears of joy already and feel the bone-crushing hug that was sure to come when he presented the gift. He would never pretend to understand Shitty’s aggressive emotions, but it was nice to know how much his friend cared for him. Even if it was over a tacky t-shirt.

Eric seemed to have enough of that store soon after and made his way up to the clerk to pay for his shirts. Jack stood patiently next to a rack of sunglasses tucking his own purchase into his backpack but was quickly whisked away to another store by Eric after a minute. 

The second one Bitty brought them into had less clothing, though it still had quite enough, but many more accessories and little trinkets. Eric grinned at the sight of an extensive hat rack placed next to an even more extensive sunglass rack. Jack dutifully followed Bitty towards the racks but was caught by surprise when Eric rounded on him and gave him a troublemaking smile.

“You stay right there mister, I’ve been wanting to see this before we even went into that other store.” Jack was very confused but followed Eric’s orders. He watched as Bitty perused the racks with a careful eye, picking out various hat and glasses combos.

He had caught on to Eric’s plan when the shorter man reached up and plopped a tan sun hat on his head, handing Jack a pair of thick-framed sunglasses and looking at him expectantly. Jack raised an eyebrow with a silent ‘ _really?_ ’ but Eric gave him his own look of warning back. He huffed a laugh, rolling his eyes, and put on the glasses. It was really all worth it to hear Eric’s sunny laugh.

“Happy?” Jack questioned, spreading his arms and looking down at Bitty.

“Oh yes, very,” Eric choked out through his giggles. He reached up to take the glasses and pressed another pair into Jack’s hands. He didn’t look much at them before putting them on, but they must have looked ridiculous given Eric’s resulting laugh that was even louder than the first one.

Bitty pulled out his phone and aimed the camera at Jack. “Do you mind?” He asked, gesturing at his phone. Jack only gave a slight shake of his head and a light shrug, what was the harm anyway. Bitty grinned and snapped the picture, taking a moment to chuckle at it some more before turning his phone around to show Jack.

And Jack had to admit, he did look pretty silly. The second pair of glasses Eric had given him were bright green and decorated with bulky, plastic palm trees on the edges. He took off the glasses and pressed them onto Eric’s face instead, much to the man’s surprise.

“How about we take another one of those ‘selfies’ eh? And you can send it to me later too,” Jack offered. It seemed like the right offer, as Eric grinned at Jack, who had bent over a little to get closer to Bittle’s height.

Bitty positioned the camera once more, capturing them both in the frame. Jack was still a little taller than Eric in the picture, but by far not as much as he was in real life. He had a soft smile on his face that seemed to be constant at this point, and Bitty was beaming at his phone. Jack thought that the glasses looked much better on Eric than him, but he didn’t look half bad in the wide-brimmed hat. The guys would get a kick out this, Jack briefly thought to himself. 

When the picture was finished, Bitty turned toward Jack, not bothering to remove the glasses. “You’re lucky I can’t get to my Twitter right now, Mr. Zimmermann, because you can bet your pretty behind that that picture would be up in a heartbeat.” He smiled so Jack would know he was joking, even if he was only really half-joking.

Jack smiled back at him. He didn’t really do Twitter, or really any kind of social media, but he had accounts at the insistence of the Falcs’ PR team. 

“You think my behind is pretty, eh Bittle?” Jack chirped. The blush that took over Eric’s face was all the reward he needed for it. It might have been the goal of the chirp in the first place, though Jack would be hard-pressed to admit it out loud.

Bitty sputtered through a response, red with embarrassment. “I- You- Jack!” Bitty gave up trying to respond, huffing, and turning away from Jack. He could still hear him chuckling though. 

Jack let Bitty explore the store a little bit longer, and the two left with only one purchase in hand. Jack was quick to question Eric’s choice of loud, plastic shark glasses, and Bitty explained how they were for their team’s goalie. He told Jack about Chowder’s near-obsession with sharks, both the animal and the team, and his decked-out room at the Haus. 

Jack listened to Eric rave about his teammate some more, placing Chowder near the top of his mental ‘Bittle’s Favorite Teammates’ list, as they made their way back to their chairs. They were both a little thankful to find their seats and towels undisturbed.

The rest of their afternoon was spent quite uneventfully. Bitty forced Jack back into the water for another hour but joined him on the beach for the hour before they headed back onto the ship. Neither wanted to sit for another hour, so they walked along the water’s edge for a while. Jack took some pictures of the open ocean, wishing once more that he’d brought his camera along with him while simultaneously being glad he didn’t; sand was a bitch to clean up. He also snuck in a few pictures of Eric while the man wasn’t looking, wanting to capture the golden shine of his hair as well as he could.

They returned to their chairs around four to pick up their towels, and slip on their shoes in Bitty’s case. Jack hiked his backpack up higher onto his shoulder, earning him a look from Eric.

“Okay,” Eric began, “I have to ask. _Where_ did you get that backpack?” Bitty stifled a giggle at the sight of Jack Zimmermann, arguably a very large man, carrying a tiny, sky-blue backpack.

Jack hadn’t even thought about it until that moment, it was just the simplest bag he had and had seemed practical to bring along. “Oh, euh, it was a gift from Shitty. I don’t really know,” he shrugged, “He said the color matched my eyes or something?”

Eric hummed appreciatively. “Well, he’s not wrong there. Anyways, I think it looks cute.” Jack blushed a little bit at Bitty calling him cute and ducked to hide his face, murmuring a quiet ‘thanks.’

“Alright,” Eric began again, “ I need to shower and change, I don’t even want to _think_ about where I have sand.” They both laughed at that and made their way back to the ship, bidding each other adieu until dinner.

. . **.** . .

Jack had sent Bitty a message sometime around five o’clock, about an hour after they’d re-boarded the ship, asking about their dinner plans. He suggested they check out the one main restaurant they hadn’t been to yet for that night- Chandelier’s. They’d settled on their usual time of seven, and Bitty was determined to be the first one there that time. 

For the past two nights, Jack had been the one to arrive first and wait for Eric. This time, though, Bitty was determined to be a proper gentleman and get there first, even if it was all for his own pride and had nothing to really do with Jack.

He’d started getting ready half an hour earlier than usual, just to be sure he got there first. He threw on a pair of nice black jeans and a light-blue floral button-down, tucked in, of course, and accented with a simple black belt.

He made his way down to the lobby of deck three around 6:45 and was pleased to not find one Jack Zimmermann anywhere in sight. Though, he thought that it would be the only time he would ever be pleased about that.

While Bitty waited, he looked through his socials again and scrolled through the chat, which hadn’t changed much since that afternoon. They weren't scheduled to leave the dock until around eight, so he still had a little bit of time connected to the outside world. He also opened up the ship’s app to see what was going on that night. The performance he and Jack had gone to see the night prior was fun, and Eric still found it hard not to blush at Jack holding his hand then, but he wanted to find something they could do that allowed them to talk more. 

A trivia game that night caught his eye. It was scheduled for nine P.M., which would be perfect timing for when they got out of dinner. Plus, if he remembered correctly, Jack had mentioned something about being a history fan, so maybe he would enjoy it? Bitty hoped so, at least, and decided to suggest it to him later.

After only a few more minutes of waiting, Eric noticed the approaching figure. Oh Lord had arriving first been a mistake. Somehow, having Jack approach _him_ , waving and smiling a wide smile, was even more difficult for his heart to handle than approaching Jack himself. 

Jack was dressed slightly different that night, having thrown a grey suit jacket over his dress-shirt along with his now-familiar tailored slacks. There was something so incredibly sexy about a tieless suit look, and Bitty’s eyes were drawn to Jack’s exposed collarbones even more than the previous nights. All of that paired with Jack’s smile, directed only at him, made his heart flutter and face go hot. He hoped his attraction didn’t show too much on his face, God knows Eric has already blushed enough around Jack Zimmermann and he doesn’t need more embarrassment now.

“Hey,” Jack said quietly once he was in front of Bitty. Bitty felt like Jack was standing closer to him than usual; had he always smelled that good? If he had, Eric had never been close enough to smell his cologne, so that was definitely new.

“Hi,” Bitty responded. Why was it always so awkward and slow when they met up for dinner? It was never like this when they met up at other times. Maybe it was the more romantic setting, Eric mused. Or the fact that they dressed up for each other a little bit whenever they met for dinner.

They stood there, watching each other for a moment longer before Jack cleared his throat. “Let’s get a table, yeah?” Bitty swallowed, smiled, and nodded, trying to brush off the charged energy between them.

As par for the course, the intimate vibe that always appeared when they met up had settled down by the time they were seated. Their waitress introduced herself and offered their menus as usual. Bitty paid less attention to the menu this time around, though that wasn’t to say he paid zero attention, food was his passion after all. However, he was more distracted by the man in front of him and found it hard to focus on anything else for the time being.

If Jack had noticed anything different, he didn’t mention it, beginning their small talk easily and simply. It was never hard to fall into a conversation with Jack, Bitty thought. It had certainly gotten easier over the past couple of days, and even with how much they talked, it still seemed like they had even more to say.

Soon, their orders were taken. Bitty was pretty sure he’d ordered a kind of pasta with a soup as an appetizer, though he couldn’t remember the exact details of each dish. No matter, he trusted himself to make good decisions regarding food. Jack had ordered some kind of chicken with a lemon and caper sauce, which honestly sounded like something Bitty would want to try and make himself.

They fell back into an easy conversation, but Bitty’s phone began buzzing incessantly as they chatted. Jack was finding himself a bit distracted by it and finally had to ask. “That your team?” He questioned, smiling.

Eric blushed a little from their interruption. “Yeah, I’ve been getting all of their messages since we’re still docked.” Jack chuckled, an easy smile on his face.

“You send them that picture from earlier?”

Bitty perked up, remembering what he had in his camera roll. “No, I didn’t! Do you really want me to send it? They’re not going to leave us alone,” Eric warned. Jack nodded encouragingly, gesturing at Bitty’s phone.

Bitty giggled as he opened his phone and sent off the selfie from lunch with no caption. “Jack Zimmermann, you better be prepared for this,” he warned. Jack only shrugged, smiling warmly at Eric. He shook his head at Jack, silently laughing, and soon enough, his phone resumed its buzzing.

**🏒knife shoe gang🏒**

**Holster:** Bits tell me that’s not who I think it is

 **Ransom:** BITTY WTF IS THAT JACK ZIMMERMANN

 **Bitty:** :3

 **Ransom:** BITS WTFFFFF

 **Chowder:** Omg!!! Bitty that’s so cool!! Tell him I say hi!!!

 **Nursey:** yoooo

 **Nursey:** chill

 **Dex:** Seriously Nurse? That’s all you have to say?

 **Nursey:** stfu poindexter

Bitty leaned over the table and angled his phone so Jack could read as he typed. He felt Jack’s rumbling chuckle as he read over all of the messages they’d gotten so far.

**Bitty:** He says hi back Chowder

 **Chowder:** !!!! OMG Jack Zimmermann knows who I am!!!

 **Holster:** Bro how did you even meet him

 **Bitty:** Cruise :P

Jack laughed softly again at Bitty’s response, and Eric felt a pool of warmth grow in his stomach.

**Lardo:** Bitty, bro, deets

 **Ransom:** Yeah dude come on!! You can’t just send a pic of Jack Zimmermann and not give us deets

 **Bitty:** Can’t rn, we’re having dinner

 **Ransom:** DINNER???

 **Holster:** Bits how long have you known him

 **Bitty:** Met him the first day

 **Ransom:** biTS asdfjkdjkajdhf

 **Lardo:** Nice

 **Nursey:** yo hold up, just dinner or like dinner dinner

 **Bitty:** :3

Bitty turned his ‘do not disturb’ on after that and locked his phone, knowing that the boys would keep pestering him otherwise. After Nursey’s text, he’d turned his phone away from Jack before responding, which was, admittedly, more sketchy than if he’d let Jack watch. He was pointedly ignoring Jack’s easy smile and raised eyebrows.

Bitty let the blush settle on his face and looked away, murmuring a quiet ‘shut up Zimmermann.’ Jack only laughed, but didn’t comment on it. Bitty was content to let him believe what he wanted to believe and not talk about it yet. To be honest, he wasn't quite sure what to call their meal either though.

After a moment, most of Bitty’s embarrassment ebbed and he could talk again. “Well, I told you they’d go crazy over it.”

Jack smiled, his usual ‘stoic but still soft’ look taking over his face. “That you did.” 

Eric was thankful that the conversation turned back to normal for the rest of dinner, Jack not mentioning Bitty’s suspicious turning of his phone from earlier.

“So,” Bitty began as Jack stole a forkful of his dessert. That had seemed to become common practice by that point, though it certainly didn’t bother Bitty. Jack looked up at him with the fork poised a few inches away from his face. “I was looking for something we could do tonight, and it looks like they have some trivia in about half an hour. Is that, uh, would that be something you’re interested in?”

Jack’s eyes lit up when Bitty mentioned trivia, in a similar way they had when he’d mentioned hockey during their first meeting. It was endearing at least, and downright adorable at most. He took the bite left on his fork before responding with enthusiasm. “Yeah, totally! Marty and Guy have forced the team to trivia nights before, but I actually really enjoyed them.” He paused for a moment before continuing. “Bet we’d make a pretty good team, eh, Bittle?” 

Eric blushed under Jack’s open smile, hiding his face with a chuckle. He thought about it for a moment and realized Jack was actually right. “I guess so, yeah. Don’t worry, I’ll carry us on the pop-culture questions.” If there was anything Bitty had learned about Jack, it was that he was absolutely clueless about the music of the actual century they lived in. 

Jack chuckled at Eric’s chirp, knowing that he was right. “Alright Bittle, but you come back to me when they ask about anything other than pie and Beyoncé.” Bitty rolled his eyes, ready to argue, but knew Jack was kind of right.

The two finished off the crème brûlée set between them before heading off to the bar where Trivia Night was being held.

All in all, it was a nice place. Despite the copious amounts of alcohol served in the pub, it definitely smelled and looked a lot better than some of the other places Jack had been dragged to. It was pretty full when they stepped in, but they found a small table at the back of the room. It was a bit of a distance from the microphone set up on the table at the front, where the presumed host would be sitting, but the place was small enough that it likely wouldn’t be a big deal.

As they took their seats, a crew member came up to them to hand over a small stack of papers. Jack took one into his hand, and upon closer inspection, he found that they were scorecards for the game. Each paper, of which there were five in total, had ten blank lines on it with a space for their names at the top.

At some point during Jack’s examination of the papers, Eric had gotten himself some kind of cocktail that Jack couldn’t place. He himself passed on a drink, settling for water to give himself something to sip on as a distraction. Though, why he would want to distract himself from Eric was lost on Jack.

“So,” Eric said, drawing his attention, “What kinds of questions do you think these are gonna be? I mean, I’ve played Trivial Pursuit enough times, but I doubt that’ll give us a lot of help.” 

Jack chuckled despite himself. “Well, I’m just hoping for a lot of history questions. Here’s to hoping my ‘old-man hobby,’ as Snowy likes to put it, of watching documentaries helps us out a little bit.” Jack nudged Eric’s arm with his elbow, winking, resulting in a tinkling laugh from the man.

Honestly, Jack surprised himself with how un-awkward he was becoming with Eric. He usually wasn’t so open with people about his interests, finding that they usually didn’t care or found them boring, but Bittle always listened when Jack talked. It was nice, he thought, to be more comfortable than he’d been with another person in years.

Bitty and Jack fell into an easy silence for the few minutes before the host stepped up to his table. When he did, though, they were quickly thrown into a fast-paced game. The host explained the rules quickly: There would be five rounds with ten questions each. The guests could play in teams or solo, and when the time for the tenth question was up, someone from each team would have to bring their paper for that round up to the table for judging. Three more crew members had joined him at the front table to aid in marking the scoresheets.

Each round was a mix of history, science, music, literature, and sports-related questions that got increasingly more difficult with each passing round.

For their first round, Eric and Jack had gotten all but one question right.

As predicted, Jack got most of the history questions correct. Eric was slightly impressed by him knowing where the Declaration was stored during World War II; Fort Knox, Jack told him. 

“Jack, why do you know more about U.S. history than me?” He’d questioned. “You’re not even American?”

Jack chuckled at Bittle's exasperation. “I just read a lot on roadies,” he responded simply. “And, I do have dual citizenship, actually,” he continued, to which Eric only huffed.

Eric definitely picked up some of Jack’s slack though, for which he was grateful. He definitely would _not_ have known who the youngest person to appear on a Billboard chart was. Truthfully, he wasn’t quite sure what a Billboard chart was either, but he didn’t mention that.

When the host had asked that question during round three, Eric had started lightly but repeatedly tapping Jack’s hand with his own, pulling the paper and pencil away from Jack and towards himself. He scrawled out a name Jack didn’t recognize, but took pity on Jack’s clearly confused expression and explained.

“Blue Ivy, Beyoncé’s daughter, was featured in a Jay-Z song released literally days after she was born.” Well, that explained it all. If there was one thing he’d learned about Bittle, it was that the only thing that came close to being an obsession on par with baking for him was Beyoncé. He’d just about lost it when Jack admitted to not knowing any of her music during one of their conversations, resulting in Eric giving him an hour-long show-and-tell of his music library.

The thing he was not expecting was Bitty’s surprising amount of knowledge about football. Or American football, to be precise.

They’d gotten a question in an early round about which NFL team had the most Super Bowl appearances, and Jack had to admit he had no idea. He could have made a guess, but he’d never followed American football, despite his prowess within other certain sports.

Jack had blanched, assuming neither of them knew the answer, but was happily surprised to see Eric reach for the paper and jot down ‘New England Patriots.’ 

“You follow football?” Jack questioned him.

“Well sure, when your daddy’s a football coach it’s kind of hard to escape from.” Bitty smiled lightly, but Jack could see him hold a little bit of tension in his shoulders. It was the first he’d heard about Eric’s family past minor mentions of his mother and grandmother teaching him how to bake. He decided not to press though, not thinking it the right time.

They continued through the rest of the rounds, easily getting the pop-culture, history, and a large amount of the sports questions correct. When it came to the science questions, anything that stretched past basic high-school level knowledge left them stumped and guessing. Eric was helpful with some of the music, and Jack with some of the literature, but neither was their strong suits. 

In the end, they didn’t win first place, but they still placed relatively high for having such a small team and only very specific knowledge. They left the pub satisfied with their evening, walking very close together toward the elevators. 

Bitty laughed, bumping Jack’s hip as he talked. “I still can’t believe you knew that last one.”

“Bits, it was in French, and if you haven’t noticed, I _speak_ French.” Jack smiled down at the giggling man.

“Okay, but still. Know one else would know that ‘Les Fauves’ means ‘The Wild Beasts,’” he protested, completely butchering the French.

“ _Les Fauves_ ,” Jack corrected, chuckling at Eric’s horrible accent. 

“Yeah, that’s what I said.” Bitty leaned against the wall, smiling up at Jack. They’d paused in the hall leading to the elevator lobby near a large, round window that looked out on the ocean. 

Jack had leaned down a little bit to get closer to Eric’s level, a habit he had started getting into as they’d spent more time together. They’d been drifting closer to each other all night, and now was no exception. 

Jack felt their hands brush where Eric’s was swinging gently by his side, and on an impulse, he caught Bitty’s hand in his. It was as warm as it had been the other night, but this time, he could see the pink blush taking over the smaller man’s face. He released Eric’s hand, but kept his fingers on it, brushing them along the back of it as he spoke.

“I, um, I had a really good time today, Eric.” Jack was sure he was blushing too, he could feel the warmth on his face. Eric’s resulting smile at his words only created warmth in his chest, however.

“Me too, Jack.” Bitty smiled gently at him, speaking quietly. Jack ducked his head down, hiding his smile and heated face. When he looked back up, Eric was still smiling softly at him.

“Goodnight, Eric,” he said, giving the blond’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

Eric nodded, his smile growing slightly bigger. “Yeah.”

Jack squeezed his hand again before letting it go, his fingers drifting along the back once more. He gave Eric a reassuring smile before turning to leave, looking over his shoulder one last time with another smile.

Later, when he got back to his room, he found a message on his phone asking ‘ _Breakfast?_ ’ The only response he found in his mind was ‘ _yes_.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may have noticed me thirsting over Jack in a suit, and I can only promise more of that in the next chapter. I can't not be gay for this man when he's practically the epitome of my type.
> 
> Another thing I can promise for the next chapter is... The first song of the story ;)) There are at least three singing-related scenes throughout, and they have to be some of my favorites I have planned. I think only chapter seven's *special* scene (wink wink, nudge nudge) takes the cake for me.
> 
> As always, thank you for continuing to read, and let me know of any errors!


	4. Day 3: A Two Man Mini-Hockey Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day Three takes us to another day at sea featuring pool time, gay yearning, mini-golf, our first formal dinner, and some flirty lip-syncing! Copious amounts of hand-holding in this one, folks!
> 
> Some official developments in this relationship may be occurring as well ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Good God, I am so late with this chapter, for which I apologize! I've tacked on so many other projects to myself that I have to split my time on now. If you want info on one of them though, go hit up my Tumblr (0xenfreee) to check out my Falconers hoodie progress!!
> 
> I've also put on my clown shoes and started planning a sequel, and we're not even halfway through this yet. Someone please come wipe my facepaint off and throw away my red nose ball.

Waking up that morning, Bitty felt the most rested and relaxed he had in days. He _could_ attribute it to being able to get out on the beach and release some energy, but he knew that wasn’t all it was. The night had ended perfectly, and Bitty was becoming more sure of how Jack might feel towards him. After all, he reasoned, you didn’t hold hands _twice_ with someone you weren’t interested in. Especially if you were Jack Zimmermann. That man was not really known for his open displays of affection.

Bitty had gone to bed the previous night sated in more than one way as a result of memories of Jack Zimmermann’s hands. He quickly shook himself out of those thoughts though; they weren’t exactly suitable for the morning if he wanted to get to breakfast on time. 

Instead, he focused on getting ready to meet up with the man himself, with his fantasies only lingering at the back of his mind. It was another day-at-sea that day, so Bitty threw on a pair of casual khaki shorts and his favorite blue and white striped t-shirt.

The skin over his nose and cheeks felt a little tight from the previous day’s sun, but looking in the mirror he didn’t look too red. The tips of his ears and highs of his cheekbones may have gotten a little pink, but it was nothing that wouldn’t resolve in a day or so. If anything, it just made him look a little rosy and perpetually flushed.

Confident in his look, Bitty made his way up to the buffet for their standing 8:30 breakfast. While it was definitely one of the more busy times, it also seemed to work out well for both of them. Bitty knew that Jack got up early to work out, he’d told him as much at their first breakfast together, but Eric was one to get up a little later. If he had his way, Bitty would be getting up even later than he was, but he wasn’t going to complain about spending time with Jack.

Knowing him, Bitty assumed Jack would already be there. A quick look at his phone confirmed it for him, as there was a message waiting for him that explained where Jack was sitting. Bitty quickly moved through the line, collecting the usual copious amounts of eggs, bacon, and potatoes, along with a couple of mini-pancakes. He couldn’t bear to pass them up when they looked so cute and small.

He made his way in the direction he believed Jack was, quickly spotting his blue Falconers baseball cap with black, boy-band bangs poking out at the front. He’d chirped Jack about his fringe before, but he had to admit to himself that it was actually really cute. He found it hard to find anything about Jack that wasn’t at least cute, or worse, hot.

As he slid into the seat across from Jack, the man looked up at Bitty and tossed him that look that made his heart clench. Eric smiled back politely, hoping that the fact he was falling head over heels for this boy didn’t come through too much.

“Morning, Bittle,” Jack said before taking a bite of his meal.

“Good morning to you too, Mr. Zimmermann. Though, I expect you’ve been up for a little while longer than me.” Eric chuckled lightly, quietly pleased at the small smile he drew from Jack. He quickly busied himself with his food to avoid saying anything about it.

“Yeah, have to keep up with the workouts, you know how it is.” Bitty nodded. It was true, he did know how it was. Maybe not to the caliber of Jack, but he always felt a little rusty whenever he returned to Samwell at the end of Summer. And this last year, Ransom and Holster took their captain-ship a little too hardcore, making the team get up extra early three times a week for extended workouts. At least Bitty got a nice ass out of it.

They ate quietly for a while until Eric spoke, breaking the silence. “Jack,” he began, the man in question lifting his gaze to Bitty’s, “Do you have any plans for today?”

Jack sat silently for a moment, thinking back on if he’d seen anything on the ship schedule that seemed interesting. “No,” he decided, “I don’t think so.”

Perfect, Bitty thought to himself. “Well, I was thinking of going to the pool, if you want to join me.” While it was true that he _had_ been planning on visiting the pool, inviting Jack along may have been out of slightly selfish intent. If he wanted to see Jack back in his swimwear dripping wet again, so sue him for being a gay man in a friendship -maybe more?- with another very attractive man.

“Bittle, we were literally at the beach yesterday.” Jack was looking at him as if the idea of going swimming two days in a row was something ridiculous, a face to which Eric had to laugh.

“Yeah,” he said through a small giggle, “So what? That was yesterday, and today is today. We’re on a cruise ship with a free pool and perfect weather,” he said as if it was the obvious response to such circumstances. Jack was still giving him a look of disdain. “You said you didn’t have any plans,” Eric reminded him. “Let’s see you come up with something better.”

Jack stared him down for a moment, eyes narrowing, before releasing his breath in a rush of air and dropping his head. He looked back up to give Eric a dissatisfied smile. “Fine, Bittle, you win. We can go to the pool.”

Eric grinned sunnily at him, he was getting his wish after all. “And just for that, I’ll even let you bring another book if you want.” Jack rolled his eyes at him, but still smiled lightly at Bitty.

They finished up their breakfasts and agreed to meet back up at the adult pool, Jack’s only request, by 9:30. By the end of it, if Bitty didn’t know any better, he’d think Jack was getting a little bit excited about it too.

. . **.** . .

Being dragged to the pool was not Jack’s ideal method of spending his mid-morning, but it was hard to complain much when he was getting an eyeful of Eric’s clear, tanned skin. Jack wasn’t averse to swimming, he actually quite enjoyed it, but he was usually more of a fan of it when it was for exercise and not in a small, crowded, public pool. At least the adult pool would have fewer people, that was something he’d definitely noticed when he’d stumbled across Eric there that first ship day. 

As per Eric’s request, Jack had changed back into his swim trunks and returned to the pool deck. He had, however, brought a book along, despite the teasing he might receive for it. He’d finished his book from the day before quickly, returning it to the ship’s little library before dinner the night previous, and picked up something else: _The Goldfinch_. It was much longer and more recently published, being only a few years old. He was sure he’d heard Marty talking about it once before, which may have been why the title caught his eye.

At least it would keep him occupied if he could escape Bittle’s clutches for a little bit. Though, he considered for a moment, if Eric were to continue swimming or even just lounging around, it may cause him a little difficulty with focusing on the book. That man was a force of nature and a ray of sunshine all at the same time, and no matter how hard he tried, Jack could never keep his attention from him for very long.

It was a few minutes before he spotted Eric on the deck, Jack having been a tad early as always. He smiled simply as the sunshine disguised as a man approached him and set down his bag on the seat beside him. Eric was wearing a different pair of shorts than he had the day before, this pair a plain, light-grey coupled with a cheery, yellow tank-top. 

“Nice to see you again, Mr. Zimmermann,” Eric said with a bright smile. From where Jack was sitting and Eric was standing, the sun seemed to cast a halo around Eric’s head. It lit up his hair, making it shine gold, and danced off of the skin on his arms.

Jack tore his eyes away from Eric’s seemingly glowing skin to look back at his face. “Good to see you too, Bittle.” Jack tried for familiar, but probably just sounded a bit awkward.

He was quiet as Eric dug through his bag to pull out his now-familiar bottle of sunscreen, applying it to himself then throwing it to Jack. Once again, he briefly lectured Jack about proper skin protection, at which Jack just smiled slightly and applied as requested.

Bittle took him by the wrist once more, something he seemed to be growing accustomed to, and pulled him toward the pool. They weren’t as rambunctious as they had been the day before. The pool was much smaller than the beach and the other guests would likely not have appreciated it. Mostly, they just floated around in the water chatting as they would have anywhere else.

Jack was becoming glad he’d allowed Eric to convince him of the pool, it was relaxing. The water was surprisingly cool for how much direct sunlight it got and it felt soothing against his skin. He was able to appreciate how at-home Eric looked in the water too, floating and treading in short laps with his sunglasses pushed up into his hair.

They must have swum for at least an hour before opting to return to their chairs and dry off. Jack’s fingers felt soft and pruny by the time they got out, but otherwise, he felt satisfied. 

They tugged their shirts back on after drying off with towels, continuing their analysis of Ransom and Holster’s ‘Human In The Attic vs. 1,000 Cockroaches’ debate. With how much Eric had told him of his team, Jack was almost sure he’d enjoy meeting them if given the chance. And by God did he hope he would be given the chance if the implication of staying in touch with Eric was anything to go by.

As per his expectation, Eric did chirp Jack about bringing a book with him, but Jack never had the chance to read it anyway, as the chirp only evolved into a discussion about reading.

“Jack, I really don’t get how you can spend so much time reading,” Eric had said. “I can barely get through the required reading I need for class! I don’t think I’ve read a book for pleasure since at least middle school.”

Jack chuckled at Eric’s tone. “Well, it’s easy to take a book when the team has to travel,” Jack had offered in defense.

“Okay sure, but isn’t that was Netflix is for? Completely easy to take with you, thousands of hours of entertainment,” Bittle countered.

“Eh, television isn’t really my thing. I’d rather sit down with a book than watch something.” Jack chuckled once more at the look Eric gave him for that.

“Good Lord, Jack, you really are a grandpa.” Jack was used to chirps about his pastimes, responding only with a shrug and good-natured smile.

“If you want to talk shows, talk to Tater. I’m 90 percent sure he learned almost all of his English from _Friends_.” At that, Bittle laughed, which brought a warm feeling to Jack’s chest. He enjoyed making Eric laugh, if not for a sign that he wasn’t being totally awkward then for the view of Eric’s smile.

“Fine, but don’t think that means you can escape me enlightening you about all things twenty-first century when we get back to proper civilization.” Jack’s smile returned to his lips and he hummed a low, accepting note. 

“Alright, Bittle, I’ll hold you to that.” Jack blushed a bit at what the statement implied, not having verbally expressed his desire to keep in touch yet. He noticed a slight blush to Eric’s face as well though, and a small, pleased smile gracing the man’s face.

Eric nodded once, turning his smile to Jack and catching his eye. They were both quiet for a moment before Eric looked at his phone and spoke.

“You think you wanna grab lunch? Looks like there are some games or something going on in a few too if you want to watch?” 

Jack gave a non-verbal response of a shrug and a nod, turning to slip his shoes on and tuck his book under his arm. When he turned back, Eric had his bag slung over his shoulder and was standing expectantly for Jack.

They made their way through the restricted zone into the main section of the Lido deck, which was practically packed full already. Jack followed Eric’s lead, the smaller man easily navigating the crowded area. A few rows of chairs had been cleared out, Jack noticed, to make an open space of deck in front of the pool. That accounted for the crowd, he supposed, and he assumed that’s where the games Eric mentioned would be taking place. What kinds of games though, Jack had no idea.

There were two tables set up in the open space, both with various types of alcohol on the ends of them, being guarded by a crew member. He wasn’t sure what kind of game would necessitate that much alcohol, but a small, curious part of him wanted to find out.

In the meantime, he found himself in front of a hamburger shack labeled with a colorfully lit up sign that simply said _Benny’s_. There was a small line ahead of them and Jack could see the various burger choices being made by some of the ship’s guests. While not all of them looked bad, some of them were large and greasy enough to make Jack’s stomach hurt just thinking about eating one. 

Something like that for lunch would definitely throw off Jack’s meal plan, even if only self-imposed at that point. As they moved forward in the line, however, Jack was pleased to notice a small selection of sandwiches. While clearly made earlier that morning, they were much lighter and less greasy than everything else the place had to offer.

He ignored the look Eric gave him when he asked for a turkey wrap, but the man otherwise stayed silent.

With their food in hand, Eric worked them back through the crowd up the second level of the deck. There was more seating there, despite being just as busy as the deck below, but they could still see the open space with the tables. 

Finding two open deck chairs, Eric set his plate down on the end of one and sat, legs crossed beneath him, and turned to face Jack. He followed in a similar fashion but left his legs outstretched.

“Jack, hon, I have to say that I both admire and find your dedication to perfect health ridiculous,” he said when Jack moved to take a bite of his wrap. “I’m sure you need it to keep all those muscles in such good shape, but still.” Eric gave an exaggerated, saddened sigh, drawing a chuckle from Jack.

“Well, Bittle, if you want muscles like these,” he paused to flex and wink at Eric, gaining a giggle from the smaller man, “Then you need to eat more protein.”

“Excuse me, Mr. Zimmermann,” Eric said with a playful gasp, “I’m not sure what your definition of protein is, but I have this perfectly good burger right here, thank you very much.” Jack gave him a laughing huff, taking another bite of his food. “Plus, it’s not my fault one of your biceps is the same size as my head,” Eric murmured after a moment.

Jack choked out a laugh, earning him a disgruntled look from Eric. He smiled to himself, slightly pleased that Eric had noticed his looks, and kept eating quietly. When he stole a few of Eric’s fries, the blond didn’t even try to hit his hands away.

A short while after they’d started on their food, a voice came over the speakers mounted at various points around the deck. Jack looked down to the lower deck and saw a man in a polo shirt holding a microphone standing between the two tables.

“Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please,” the man’s voice called over the speakers. “Our Lido Deck Games will begin shortly. My name is Jean and I will be your gamemaster for this afternoon! Starting off with the mixologist competition, can we please get two volunteers!” 

Jack and Eric watched as a few guests on the lower deck scrambled to the front of the crowd, aiming for the man with the microphone. 

“Guess the games are starting,” Eric said, craning his neck slightly to see the deck below. Jack nodded, standing up out of his chair. He extended a hand towards Eric and pulled him up, drawing him over the railing of the deck.

“Here,” Jack said, “Let’s stand here so we can see better.” Eric nodded, looking down at their clasped hands and blushing. Jack didn’t let go of Eric’s hand until the other man moved to cross his arms and rest them on the rail. However, Eric kept his arm pressed against Jack’s, which was good enough for him.

Soon, Jean’s voice returned over the speakers to explain the rules of the game. “Alright, folks, today I have with me two of our guests,” he said as he gestured to the two people standing beside him. There was one woman, who he announced as Katie, and a man called Sam.

“Both claim to be experienced home mixologists, but I’ll leave that one up to our judges! For this competition, Katie and Sam will be tasked to make three drinks to be judged. One made with tequila, one made with rum, and one of their own devising! They will be passed along to our judges for tasting, and at the end, the winner will have their custom drink made available to all guests at any one of our ship’s bars!”

It was a strange idea for a competition, in Jack’s opinion, but it roused cheers from the crowd on the Lido deck. He watched as Jean set some sort of timer, the two guests rushing to start their first drinks.

In the end, Katie was announced as the winner. Jack wasn’t quite sure what her final drink was, but it was colored bright red by one of the ingredients. He briefly thought that it was something Bittle might drink, and tried not to focus on the idea of it possibly tinting his lips an alluring pink.

At that, he glanced down at the man in question, admiring his profile. Eric didn’t seem to notice him watching, he appeared lost in thought looking out at the deck, allowing Jack to appreciate his looks to his heart’s content. The sun was still high and playing off of all of Bittle’s features. He had a light sheen of sweat to his forehead that he somehow managed to make attractive, as if the heat couldn’t possibly bother him.

Jack was startled out of his staring by Jean’s voice returning over the speakers to announce the next game, and he turned his gaze back to the deck below.

. . **.** . .

Bitty had to say he was entertained by the deck games. The drink mixing competition definitely reminded him of things Ransom and Holster would do at kegsters. Though, more often than not, their concoctions would not be for flavor and more for the purpose of getting as drunk as possible as quickly as possible. Or sometimes, just for the sake of being disgusting. He shuddered at the memory of their self-dubbed ‘Siracha Fireball Supreme,’ and he wasn’t even sure what all was in it. All he knew was there had to be at least three different types of alcohol and an unhealthy amount of hot sauce mixed in a Solo cup, likely with some other mystery ingredients he didn’t want to know about.

He was thankful for their games director, Jean, for taking his mind off of disgusting frat-boy party drinks and instead focusing it on the next competition.

What he’d announced as the second game was a sort of a ‘How Well Do You Know Your Partner?’ kind of game. They’d brought out a couple of small whiteboards and asked for more volunteers, but couples instead of single volunteers.

By Jean’s choice, they’d ended up with a mother and her teenage daughter and a cute, older couple standing up by the tables. The way Jean explained it, one of the partners would be asked ten questions about the other and they had to try and answer with the same thing. A classic game, but still enjoyable to watch.

As the game went underway, Bitty watched with a small, nagging pull in his stomach. The older couple was winning by one point, but both of the teams were doing quite well. He realized that he privately wished that he had someone like that; someone he could know so intimately. He had Lardo and considered her his best friend, but there was something different that he wanted.

He blushed when he thought about himself in the couples’ shoes, imagining that it was him and Jack down there. He wasn’t oblivious to his developing feelings for the man, he wasn’t that stupid, but he didn’t want to make a fool of himself yet. He was sure that Jack had some feelings for him too, but Eric had no clue how to approach that kind of thing. All of his previous dates had been set-ups, and he was realizing that he’d never felt as strongly for them as he was feeling for Jack.

It was frustrating, how badly he wanted to do something with his feelings yet not knowing exactly what or how to do it. Bitty chewed on the inside of his lip as he considered it, coming to the conclusion that he would have to make some kind of move by day five. At the minimum, he’d tell Jack that he was into him. 

Yeah, that sounded like a good idea. Good God, he hoped he wouldn’t regret making that kind of promise to himself.

Eric shook himself out of his mind, drawing his attention back to the events at hand. The partner game had gone by quickly while he was inside his own head, so Eric completely missed the end of it, much to his disappointment.

He glanced over at Jack, though, and found the larger man watching him out of the corner of his eye, a gentle smile on his face. Bitty felt his face heat up under Jack’s watch but didn’t look away. When Jack noticed him looking back, the man quickly averted his eyes, a gentle pink settling on his cheekbones and a sheepish smile to his lips. It was endearing if only a little bit embarrassing to be looked at in such a way. Eric preened, just a little bit, at the thought that he really had caught Jack’s eye.

What could have turned into an awkward moment was broken by Jean’s voice once more. He returned to the speakers, coming out slightly crackly but otherwise clear.

“Alright, people of the Lido Deck, for our final game and advancement of our story, I am pleased to announce the lip-sync battle sign-ups! Starting at nine PM in The Backroom on deck three, join us for a night of song and entertainment!” 

Bitty was not expecting a lip-sync battle set hours later in the day to be the last game they announced, but it was the one that excited him most. He briefly considered signing up, but had no idea what song he would want to sync to, and put the thought on the back burner. That was, at least, until Jack bumped his shoulder.

He looked up at the man and noticed a mischievous grin on his face. “You should sign up, Bittle.”

Eric gave him a dubious look, raising one eyebrow. “Absolutely not. I don’t even know what song I’d do.”

“C’mon Bittle,” Jack bumped his shoulder again, “You talk about music enough that I know for a fact you have something you could do.” Jack continued to grin at him, and Bitty felt his face heat up even further.

“Fine,” he said after a brief staring contest, “Fine, fuck you, Zimmermann, I’ll do it.” Bitty stood up from his lean against the railing.

“Atta boy, Bittle.” Jack winked at him, laughing at Eric’s exaggerated eye roll and flipped-up middle finger of a response.

“Yeah, shut up. It’ll be the best damn thing you’ve ever seen in your life, you just watch me!” Bitty shouted at him, backing up before turning to run down the stairs to the first deck.

As he approached Jean, the man turned him a wide smile. “Glad to see you’re finally here!” 

Eric gave him a confused look before brushing it off, putting his name and choice of song on the clipboard Jean held out to him. He’d show Jack, fuck him for chirping him into this. Though, he was a bit thankful that Jack had given him the confidence to sign up. He loved karaoke nights at the Haus, and he was sure this would be just as fun.

When he handed Jean the clipboard back, the gamemaster winked at him. “Sorry for making the time so late, but gotta keep the story progressing, yeah? Go kill our fans with a beaut of a lip-sync, eh?”

Bitty had no idea how to respond and simply nodded dumbly and retreated quickly. The man was weird at the least. When he thought about it though, he sounded a bit like one of Samwell’s old goalies, Johnson.

He smiled to himself at that. John and Jean? Bitty briefly wondered if they might know each other before brushing it off as a silly idea.

By the time Bitty returned to Jack, the man had gathered their things, holding Eric’s bag in his hand. Jack passed it back off to him with a smile.

“Eric?” Bitty lifted his gaze to catch Jack’s eye and noticed the chirping grin still on his face. “How do you feel about mini-golf?”

. . **.** . .

Holy shit, were they bad at it. It had started out better than their shuffleboard game, at least they knew the rules for mini-golf, but neither of them was very good nonetheless. The little mini-golf course was tucked away at the back of the ship, and while there were only eight or so holes, it was taking them a while to actually get through them efficiently. 

Whenever Bitty’s ball would veer off of its course, Jack would let out a small giggle, and Eric would blame it on the wind. Despite there being very little wind. And when Jack would laugh at him, Bitty would nudge Jack’s ball just out of a straight path to the hole.

“Shut up, Jack,” Bitty whined when Jack giggled at his ball again, “You’re not doing much better yourself.” Bitty crossed his arms in a pout that Jack found infuriatingly cute.

“Well, Bittle,” Jack chuckled, “At least I’m owning up to it, eh?” Bitty stuck his tongue out at Jack, and Jack immediately wanted to chase it with his lips. He had to bite down on his cheek to keep himself from actually doing it.

Eric tapped at his ball, glaring at it for not going where he wanted it to. When he went for the next tap though, the ball as nowhere to be found. He looked back at Jack and found him grinning at him, passing the ball between his club in an imitation of a hockey puck.

“Jack, give that back,” Eric glared at him.

Jack only smiled cockily in response. “Come and get it then.” 

Bitty kept his gaze on Jack for a moment, but the man didn’t let up. He stalked forward a few steps to reach his club out and sweep it away from Jack, but Jack only kept his playful grin and moved back a few steps, bringing the ball with him.

Eric huffed out a breath through his nose, rolling his eyes before returning his glare on Jack. He stepped forward once more, Jack only continuing backward. Finally, Eric took the bait and ran at Jack, keeping his club low to the ground.

Jack’s grin grew wider and excited as he side-stepped Bitty’s lunge for the ball. He carried it behind Eric’s back, laughing as he watched the man whip around with renewed fervor. Bitty caught back up to him again, and Jack took the chance to tease him with the idea of stealing the ball back. 

Bitty’s club clacked against Jack’s as he tried to gain control of the ball, but Jack passed it between his feet and slipped behind him once more. Eric found himself turning around for the second time, met with Jack’s giddy smile. He couldn’t help the smile that it brought to his own face but quickly schooled it back to a glare.

After another round of fighting for the ball, Bitty finally had it in his control and ran it away from Jack. He moved the short distance to the end of the putting green and sunk his ball into the hole.

When he turned around to gloat, he found Jack standing a few scant inches away from him. He looked up at the man, face flushed but still grinning. It was the most care-free he’d seen Jack and the look suited him so very well.

He swallowed thickly, his tongue suddenly feeling too big for his mouth. “Well,” Bitty said, turning his gaze over Jack’s shoulder to avoid looking directly at him for too long, “I think that means I won.”

Jack laughed clearly and freely, and it was the most beautiful thing Bitty had ever heard. “Don’t think so, Bittle. There are still three more holes.” 

Bitty rolled his eyes again but didn’t bother keeping a glare. Though, he did shove past Jack with his shoulder, knocking him in a way that may have been just a tad too aggressive to be accidental. 

He heard Jack’s resulting laugh and his voice calling after him as he walked to the next green. “Come on, Bittle, don’t be like that!”

Bitty turned around for the rest of the walk, facing Jack and sticking his tongue out at him. He was met with Jack’s shining smile, the one that had been stuck on his face since initiating their little faux-hockey game.

They finished off their mini-golf game with the same amount of sabotage as before, Bitty hip-checking Jack to throw his game off and Jack knocking Bitty’s club for the same effect. Both were slightly shocked to see that what should have been a thirty-minute game had extended to almost an hour. The sun was high at that point, reaching an hour past noon, and beating down on their necks.

“Bits, you think we can head inside?” Jack was sweating in the bright sun. He had been for the past hour, but he’d be hard-pressed to admit it and stuck it through for the game.

Bitty’s cheeks heated at the nickname, the second time Jack had called him that. He didn’t seem to notice that he’d done it, but Eric had noticed immediately. And he loved it, even if he wouldn’t be able to say it to Jack’s face without turning bright red and losing all sense of the English language.

He pushed the butterflies in his stomach aside, teasing Jack to take his mind off of the nickname. “What? Can’t handle the heat, Zimmermann?” There was no force behind the chirp though, Bitty could admit that it was hotter than Hell out in the sun.

Jack shrugged as he put their equipment back in its rightful spot. “Nope. I’m not ashamed to admit that either.” Eric giggled at that, bringing a small, hidden smile to Jack’s face.

“Alright, yeah, let’s get outta here.” Bitty nodded in the direction of the closest elevator lobby, gaining a relieved smile from Jack. 

They grabbed their things from where they’d stashed them and retreated into the cool, air-conditioned space of the aft lobby. It was almost chilling how cool it was in comparison to the outside, though that could also be because they’d been standing in direct sunlight as well. 

Bitty turned to Jack, giving him a look that appeared to ask ‘ _What should we do now?_ ’ Jack gave a noncommittal shrug in response, leaving the choice up to Bitty. The blond rolled his eyes, a smile tugging at his lips, and pulled out his phone to read over the ship’s goings-on that afternoon.

“Okay, well there’s a family-friendly comedy show going on around three, but that’s a couple hours away.” 

Jack gave him a look that implied a vague interest. “Could be fun,” he said briefly before motioning for Eric to continue his thought.

“Well, we could just walk around for a bit then hit that up if you want,” Bitty offered. He hadn’t realized how easy it was to get a little bored on a cruise ship. It seemed like there was so much to do that you couldn’t even hope to try it all, yet there were still moments where it was hard to find _anything_ to do.

“Sure, I’m fine with that,” Jack responded. Bitty gave a curt nod and they started down the stairs, not aiming for a destination in particular. 

Once they hit the sixth floor, it was easier to find an aim for their wandering. They spent a few minutes wandering through the small on-ship art gallery/sales floor, pointing out different goofy caricatures or impressive landscapes. The gallery brought Bitty to talking about Lardo and her art, showing Jack pictures from his phone.

Jack thought briefly of his practically barren apartment back in Providence and made a mental note to ask Bitty to get him in touch with Lardo later. Her art was weird, he had to admit that, but he was still very much drawn to it. He laughed to himself at that thought, reminding him of a certain best friend of his.

They continued their way through the ship, stopping in the stores that Jack had already walked through once but Eric hadn’t. He was half-convinced that he would end up in more ridiculous hats, but Eric thankfully saved him from that fate. 

Bitty did, however, moon over the tiny boat plushes. ‘ _Oh Jack, isn’t that just adorable though?_ ’ Jack shook his head with a quiet laugh, marveling at how one man could be so cute.

Eventually, they did end up at the comedy show. The comedian wasn’t too special, but he still had some good jokes. Jack would be willing to bet his later nighttime show was a little funnier, if not just more crude.

They both had a good time though, if not from the comedian than simply from each other's company. Jack was still amazed at how easy it was to just enjoy Eric’s presence. The man filled up empty conversation space when Jack didn’t know what to say and he seemed happy to do it. Even their rare silences were enjoyable, not awkward.

After the show though, they parted ways for the few hours before dinner. They agreed to their usual time, seven PM, before heading for their own rooms. 

. . **.** . .

Jack was excited for that night, as it was the first formal dinner on the ship. His outfit wouldn’t be too different than usual, but it was exciting to think about Eric dressed up. Not that there wasn’t anything wrong with his usual outfits, he was plenty attractive in them, but there was just something different about a man in a suit.

He shook himself out of his thoughts to continue getting ready. He usually didn’t like to mess with his presentation too much, but he felt the need to put in just a little more effort than usual. 

Looking in the mirror one last time to check that the product in his hair had set correctly, Jack straightened the cuffs of his jacket once more before leaving his room. They’d decided to loop back around to the first restaurant they’d gone to, Seaview, for that night. All of them had the same formal dress code though, so any of the places would have been alright with Jack.

It was almost embarrassing how hung up he was about Eric in formalwear.

Early, as usual, Jack stopped himself against one of the walls outside the restaurant to wait for Eric, much like that first night. He needn’t wait long though, as he soon spotted Eric approaching him from the direction of the elevators.

As it were, all of his hopes for how hot Eric would look in formal attire were completely founded. Jack felt his breath catch in his throat and he subconsciously straightened up as Eric approached. 

He was dressed a little more casually than Jack, but still very nice. He had a soft, lilac shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and a grey vest layered over the top. His pants were slim and tight against his thighs, cutting off right at his ankle. The little bowtie at his neck pulled the whole look together and was so, so very Eric. Jack couldn’t take his eyes off of him.

“Hey, Jack!” Eric called to him as he came closer. He had a slight flush to his cheeks that Jack couldn’t tell whether it was from the sun or something else, but it flattered his face all the same.

Jack swallowed around his tongue, finding himself somewhat speechless not for the first time around this man. He managed a small smile and wave of his hand. Eric grinned wider at him and Jack swore that his heart felt like it was going to beat out of his chest. 

They’d had plenty of meals together at that point, yet this one felt somewhat more special than the others. The mood made it feel more date-like, and Jack had been becoming more sure of his growing feelings toward Eric. And those feelings were very much not platonic.

He wasn’t out officially, technically, but it was somewhat of an open secret. He’d never denied any accusations of his sexuality or previous relationships and had learned to be more open about it with his friends thanks to Shitty. He didn’t feel afraid here, with Eric, that someone could see him and leak a story about it, which he was sure added to his easy acceptance of Eric’s flirting. And his own, on that matter.

They stood quietly for a moment, longer than was likely socially acceptable, taking in each other’s presence and appearance. Eric had his lip between his teeth as he looked Jack up and down, making his appraisal seem much more sensual than the moment should have been.

After a moment longer though, Eric broke their staredown with an offer to enter the restaurant. Jack swallowed against his dry mouth once more, nodding his head before turning towards the opened doors.

They were lucky to be seated near the windows again, the view giving Jack something to admire other than Eric. It was still difficult to focus on anything but him though, not when he was sitting right across from Jack, easily within touching distance. 

Like usual, Bitty was the first to start up a conversation, to which Jack happily listened along. They were only interrupted briefly by their waiter to take their orders. The food may have been slightly nicer that evening, but Jack hardly read over the items before deciding on something reading basically as shrimp, rice, and mushrooms.

Jack was happy to listen as Eric talked, ending up propping his elbow on the table with his chin resting on his hand. Eric talked animatedly, using his hands as much as his mouth to speak.

At some point, Eric’s left hand ended up resting on the table, and Jack couldn’t stop his urge to place his own over the top of it. He paled for a moment, realizing what he’d done, but Eric didn’t react negatively. In fact, his only reaction was a pause in his speech to look wide-eyed at their conjoined hands and a blush painting his cheeks a bright pink before he resumed his story.

Jack’s palm felt warm where it touched Eric’s hand; the man always felt warm when Jack touched him, as if he really were a sunbeam turned human. He brought a brighter flush to Eric’s face and a smile to his own as he brushed his fingers across the back of Eric’s wrist. 

Eric’s story came to a close soon after their food began to arrive and they let a moment of silence occur between themselves to enjoy their appetizers. It was a bit disappointing to have to let go of Eric’s hand, but the food was almost worth it.

Not surprising to himself, Jack had gone for the simplest salad on the menu with added grilled chicken. His dinner was going to be relatively light, so he had to get his extra calories and protein in somewhere.

As they worked through the first portion of their meal, Eric spoke up again asking Jack about his plans for the following day. It was a topic Jack was actually very excited about, as he’d been looking forward to the historical tour he had planned for that day.

“Oh, well, I actually have a tour booked on the island.” Eric looked interested at that, so Jack continued. “It’s a few hours long and goes through the lighthouse, a chapel, some ruins, a few of the natural formations. I’m actually really looking forward to it,” Jack said, rubbing the back of his neck. He didn’t know why it felt embarrassing to admit, but it did.

The one thing he wasn’t looking forward to was not getting to spend as much time with Eric. Then, he had an idea.

“Maybe, um, you could come along?” Jack knew it would be unlikely to be made possible, but if Eric agreed, he’d try his hardest to make it happen. He had no qualms with spending the money on an extra signup, that was for sure.

“Oh, I don’t know, wouldn’t it be hard to sign up for something like that the night before?” Eric twisted his napkin in his hands.

“Oh, euh, I have an extra ticket?” Jack lied through his teeth. Maybe it was a shitty lie, but he felt compelled to convince Eric to come along. The confused and disbelieving look on Eric’s face only made his little lie deeper. “Yeah, um, when the guys were helping me set it up, we ended up with one more ticket than I needed. I didn’t notice it until recently and didn’t make the effort to try and refund it.” 

Okay so maybe that lie was even shittier, but hopefully, Eric would see what Jack was trying to do. Eric stared him down for a minute and Jack could feel himself growing nervous under the man’s gaze.

Finally, though, Eric broke. “Okay, Jack. If you’re sure, I’d love to join you.” Jack let out a small, relieved breath at that. He’d have to get another ticket that night…

“Great! Um, good, yeah!” He could hear the nervousness seeping through his voice. _I can finally get a picture of you with my good camera now_ , he thought.

Jack blushed though, realizing he’d said it aloud when he heard Eric’s shocked but amused half-giggle. He hid his reddening face in one of his hands, avoiding Eric’s eyes. He heard the man’s chuckle, though, soft, amused, and flattered by Jack’s statement.

He took pity on Jack, not bringing it up explicitly. Still, it was hard not to chirp someone for something like that. After taking another sip of his water, Eric asked Jack about his photography.

“Tell me a little more, yeah?” He asked. Jack still avoided looking Eric directly in the eyes for a while but went along with Eric’s request. He explained a little more about his hobby and ended up promising to show Eric some pictures later, though he knew there would be far too many images of geese.

He skipped over talking about the couple of pictures of Eric he already had on his phone from their beach trip, opting to detail more about how he got into the art. Jack spoke about it to Eric until their proper meal came, tapering off of the subject quickly afterward.

The rest of their meal seemed to pass quickly in a haze of conversation, which returned to their easy banter and discussion quickly, and polishing off of their meals plus Eric’s customary dessert order. Soon, they were off and out of the restaurant, making their way to the third-floor lounge for the lip-sync competition.

. . **.** . .

Bitty’s nerves grew slightly as they made their way into The Backroom, as the bar-lounge-stage combo room was called. It was the same place where the comedy show had been held, though the room’s lighting had been changed and dimmed slightly while the spotlight on the stage remained. Jean standing at a podium with a computer was also new.

Jack left to find them seats while Bitty went up to Jean, notifying him of his arrival.

“Ah, Eric! Just the leading man I wanted to see. Glad you’re here.” He was just as weird as Bitty remembered him being that afternoon. Still, he offered Jean a pleasant smile. “And nice song choice, by the way, he’ll be so into it,” Jean said with a wink.

If Bitty blushed, Jean made no further comment on it. Eric shook off the man’s strange yet still familiar brand of weirdness and made his way to where Jack was sitting. He’d chosen a table off to the side of the room but it was still in perfect view of the stage.

“So,” Jack began as Bitty sat down, “What song are you going to do?” Eric chuckled at him, wagging a finger at Jack.

“It’s a secret! You’ll find out soon enough.” At Jack’s disappointed look, Eric smiled and rolled his eyes. “You chirped me into this, you can wait a little longer. It’s technically your fault.”

Jack’s lips quirked in a small smile, letting Bitty see through his facade of annoyance. He smiled sunnily back, Jack turning his head down as his smile widened.

The room filled up even more and Jean soon stepped into the spotlight on the stage, microphone in hand. “Alright, everybody! We have a wonderful group of performers here tonight, so let’s get started!” 

He called up the first guest, a girl who looked to be in her early twenties that was cheered on by a gaggle of similarly aged women. She took the stage, introducing herself as Katie. 

All in all, her performance of ‘Dark Horse’ was pretty good, in Bitty’s opinion. It was clear she was a little tipsy, as were the rest of her friends, but she still managed to pull through with a nice performance, only stumbling a little bit. He clapped with the rest of the crowd as the next guest came up.

They enjoyed a few more performances before it was his turn; one from another young lady, one from a pair of teenage girls, and a very heartwarming one from an older gentleman who dedicated the song to his wife. Bitty thought that was especially sweet, as he performed an old love song while watching her the whole time.

As he walked up onto the stage, he looked over at Jean to start the music and received a thumbs-up from the man. The opening chords to ‘Love On Top’ started to play from the speakers, Bitty using his free hand not holding the silenced microphone to start snapping along the music.

He grinned as he started moving his body in exaggerated motions to the beat of the song, swinging his hips and shoulders as he began to sync his lips to Beyoncé’s voice. He moved through the opening lines with ease, lips forming the words perfectly from memory. Coming up on the chorus, he turned toward the table he and Jack had been sitting at and threw his arm out, pointing at him.

 _‘Baby it’s you / You’re the one I love / You’re the one I need’_ Bitty’s lips formed, pointing at Jack the whole time while shaking his shoulders in a shimmy. He felt his cheeks heat as his mouth formed the words, clearly too early to be saying he loved Jack, but he hoped the song got some of his simpler feelings across.

As soon as Eric had pointed at Jack as his lips moved along to the song, Jack felt heat rise to his cheeks. Eric was staring and pointing directly at him, shaking his hips to the song and filling up the room with his bright presence. As his brain processed the lyrics, he felt his face grow even hotter. Of course, he knew Eric wasn’t in love with him, but he couldn’t stop the little voice in the back of his head from whispering that he wanted him to be.

As the song continued, Jack watched with bated breath and wide eyes as Eric bounced across the stage with the microphone, not missing a single beat. His moves were exaggerated and dancing carefree and wild, but it was filled with such joy that one couldn’t help but feel happy along with him. 

Every time the chorus would return, Eric would look back at Jack and make eye contact with him, even pointing at him again at one point, and it would renew the flush to his face. He knew that he was probably getting looks from others in the room as they followed Eric’s hand, but he found it hard to let the anxiety of it take him over while his eyes were on the gorgeous man lighting up the stage.

Jack couldn’t control the blush on his face and it stayed there until Eric returned to their little table. He could recognize his feelings for what they were, even as much as the word ‘crush’ made him feel like a highschooler. Eric drew him in like a moth to a flame, and he could either act on his attraction or regret it, and he knew he’d much rather act on it.

That would have to come later though, he was a polite audience member after all.

When Bitty returned to their table, the blush on Jack’s face was clearly visible. At first, he felt quite proud of himself for putting it there, but he also realized he probably embarrassed the man a little bit. 

He slid into his chair and placed his hand on Jack’s arm, gathering the man’s attention. Good Lord, his eyes were so blue. “Sorry about that,” Bitty began with an apologetic smile, “Didn’t mean to embarrass you or anything, just got a little carried away.”

Jack looked surprised at Bitty’s words and was quick to tell him his own thoughts. “No! No, um, you didn’t, euh, embarrass me. It’s okay.” 

Jack’s words were a bit stilted and awkward, but it made Bitty smile. 

“You looked good up there,” Jack told him with a gentle smile, “You have a good stage presence.” 

Bitty couldn’t help but laugh at that. “A good stage presence? You sound like you’re gonna go talk about how well the boys are pulling together on the ice next,” Bitty teased. Jack clicked his tongue at him, looking away from Eric for a second with a shy smile.

Eric turned toward the stage with a grin on his face. Another man held the stage, syncing a country song he thought he recognized but could not name. He noticed his hand still on Jack’s arm but made no moves to remove it.

In the end, the crowd had voted the winner as a young teenage girl. Bitty had to admit she had a very nice stage presence herself, thank you Jack, and could see the happiness in her face when she got the loudest claps. Bitty hadn’t gone in to win anything anyway, it was all just fun for him.

As the room started to thin, guests filtering out slowly, Jack leaned over to speak to him. “What do you think we go walk around for a bit, eh? It’s kind of hot in here, and I bet we can get a good view of the sky out here.”  
Bitty had been a bit surprised at Jack’s suggestion, as they usually parted ways after their post-dinner event, but agreed quickly. He was met with Jack’s bright smile and followed Jack as he led them back up to the Lido deck.

As they made it outside into the still-warm air, Jack removed his jacket and slung it over his arm, much to Bitty’s disappointment. When he’d seen Jack waiting for him, he’d felt his heart stop, he was sure of it. 

It was the first time he’d _really_ seen Jack in a full suit in person, and by golly he was gorgeous. The jacket tapered to his waist and seemed to broaden his shoulders even further, the blue tie knotted at his neck brought out his eyes so well, and Bitty shouldn’t even get started on the way his legs looked in his pants. He would forever be amazed at how nice Jack’s ass was.

The lack of a jacket made him look much more casual, and maybe it wasn’t such a disappointment as Jack loosened the knot of the tie, pulling it away from his neck. The top button of his shirt was still undone, and the loosened collar left Bitty staring at the skin at the hollow of Jack’s throat wishing he could press his lips to it.

He startled at the feeling of fingers on his wrist and looked down to see Jack’s hand loosely wrapped around the base of his hand. When he looked back up, he caught Jack’s gaze for a second before the man looked away, tongue dragging nervously across his bottom lip. Before Jack could move his hand away though, Bitty turned his palm to Jack’s and locked their fingers together.

He saw a small, sheepish smile rise to Jack’s face as he started to walk them up the outdoor stairs to the upper Lido deck. 

Bitty raised his eyes to the inky sky above them and tried to pick out the stars. The lights from the ship blocked out some of the paler ones, but there were still plenty of bright ones that they could see clearly.

He let Jack guide him in a loop around the deck before they came to a pause in one of the darker parts of the ship, right before where they’d played mini-golf. It was then that Jack finally let himself look up at the sky as well, and Bitty let himself look up at Jack.

The man had a careful smile on his face, and his eyes reflected the dark nighttime sky. There was a faint light coming from the distance that cast a glow over the side of Jack’s face, lighting it up enough for Bitty to admire all of his features. He traced the cut of Jack’s jaw with his eyes and tracked them down his nose. He watched the gentle breeze ruffle Jack’s hair and desperately wished it were his hands instead.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Jack said, turning to look back at Eric. 

“Yeah,” he said, almost breathless. Bitty wasn’t sure whether he meant the sky or something else when he said it.

Jack hummed lightly in acknowledgment. “My parents have this little place in Nova Scotia that gets a beautiful view of the sky in the Summer. It’s really something else.”

Bitty nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He was still working his eyes over Jack’s form while feeling the weight of Jack’s hand in his. 

They stayed there for a moment, silent, watching the sky and on occasion each other. When Bitty wasn’t looking, Jack too ran his eyes along Eric’s face and jaw and neck and arms. He rubbed a small circle with his thumb into the back of Eric’s hand as his eyes flicked between him and the sky.

“Come on,” Bitty said eventually, tugging on Jack’s hand, “We should head in, it’s getting late.” Jack smiled softly at him, nodding his head once and moving in the direction Eric pulled him.

They made their way to the elevators once more, stopping in the empty lobby. Their hands were still interlocked and neither wanted to let go first. 

Bitty looked up at Jack, meeting his eyes. He took a deep breath, steeling himself, and stretched up onto his toes, pressing his lips to Jack’s cheek. His stubble felt rough under Eric’s lips and he loved it. 

He let himself linger for a moment before coming back down. Both of them had pink tinges to their cheeks and shy smiles on their lips. 

“Goodnight, Jack,” Bitty said quietly, looking up at him from under his eyelashes. 

Jack pulled Eric’s hand to his mouth, pressing his lips tenderly to his knuckles. Bitty gasped in a small breath at the feel of his lips on his hand, sparks flying up his arm.

When he dropped Eric’s hand back down, he stroked his fingers over the spot his lips had previously been. “Goodnight, Eric,” Jack responded with a small smile of his own.

With one last look at each other, they let their hands go and turned toward their respective methods of transportation. Stepping into the elevator with one last little wave at Jack, Bitty clutched his hand to his chest. He still felt the warmth in his hand from where Jack had held it and tingles in his fingers from his excitement.

He sighed. That man was so sweet, and Bitty knew he’d be making good use of his hand later that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thank you for keeping up with the chapter! It is my personal headcanon, or just fic canon I suppose, that Jean's full name is Jean Johansson.
> 
> Looking for music that would fit the time frame of this story was w i l d. I refuse to believe that Bad Blood came out in 2015 like what??? No it didn't.
> 
> Next chapter, I can promise some fun times in Aruba and a very soft end of the night!
> 
> By the time it's out, hockey will be back! Personally, I'm a Canes fan so I'll be rooting quietly over here ;)  
> That statement will eventually be a testament to the time this was written in...


	5. Day 4: Pictures and Ping Pong

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Day four is upon us! Today we join the boys on their little tour of Aruba, courtesy of Jack's lack of thinking and excess of money. Packed with plenty of information on Aruba that one would not need to know unless planning a vacation there, real or fictional, some more dorky cruise sports, and an ending to the night we've all be looking forward to.
> 
> Warning! Rating has been changed to explicit for a scene at the end! If you don't want to read, stop reading after Jack and Bitty say goodnight.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, y'all, uploading information first. I apparently cannot be consistent with uploading but I'm holding myself to the standard of no more than three weeks between chapters. We're over halfway done with this chapter, which makes me so happy just because I cannot believe I've even written this much. As always, a huge thanks to you guys who have been sticking around to read this silly story whenever I post a new chapter.
> 
> Now the fun stuff! I've been so excited for this chapter ever since I started doing my research on their tour for it. There has been a Tumblr post totally inspired by one part of this, a post I may have to make good on in a later story *cough* Shitty and Jack making their own dumb towel animals *cough*
> 
> Yes! I'd like to announce that I plan to continue this into a series! I already have a short filler story finished (only about 2k) that's just about Eric's post-Samwell plans in this universe. Once this story is finished, I'll post that, and then begin working on/posting the second addition to this series!
> 
> I don't want to give too much away yet, but it will be set 5 years in the future from this fic (so 2021) and will involve another cruise, one much longer and filled with some cast members we've seen so little of. Alright! That's all for now, go forth and read this chapter!

Jack woke later than usual, though that still only meant 6 AM instead of 5:30. He hoped that he wasn’t getting used to waking up later, it wouldn’t be good for him when he returned to Providence. Still, he managed to hit the gym for a while, working up a sweat and clearing his head for the day to come. 

While he ran the short track around the deck, he watched the ship pull fully up to the port of the island. By seven, they’d docked and he made his way to the gym proper for some weight training. The sight of the island had Jack’s excitement rising as he worked through his routine. It was the first day he could break out his camera, something he’d been looking forward to since he started the trip.

He smiled privately knowing that he wouldn’t be alone on the tour that day. He had, in fact, managed to get one more ticket. It may have cost a bit more than if he’d bought it earlier, but Eric didn’t have to know that. Plus, it would be worth it to have Eric there with him.

Jack had done a bit of research beforehand, and he was sure that the lighthouse they were planned to visit would provide a perfect background for a picture of the man. The forecast was clear, so the sun would glint off of Eric’s hair in the way Jack just loved and he couldn’t wait to capture in a way he could save. 

In reality, just about all of the places along the tour would make for some great pictures, with or without Eric in them. They were all interesting in their own ways with histories that he was excited to hear about in more detail. It was why he was going on the tour, he had to remind himself, not just for pictures of Eric. Jack still planned to get pictures of him in each place though.

He brought his attention back to his workout, finishing up quickly before returning to his room. 

Maybe waking up at six wasn’t too bad of an idea, actually, he pondered as he got ready. It gave him just the right amount of time to get his morning workout in, shower after, and get ready to meet up with Eric without having half an hour to waste waiting for the right time.

Jack didn’t bother to dry his hair properly after showering, trusting that it would air-dry in the right way. He pulled on a thin, black t-shirt and matching black shorts, yellow tennis shoes quickly on his feet afterward. 

He didn’t bother bringing his camera or any of the things he’d need off of the ship, as they weren’t supposed to meet up until 10 for the tour, but pocketed his keycard and headed up to the buffet. Assuming he’d be the first one there, as usual, Jack started piling his plate with eggs and turkey sausage. He grabbed a cup of yogurt and filled up a bowl with blueberries and watermelon.

Before sitting, Jack pulled out his phone to tell Eric where he was but found that the man was already there and seated. He was also surprised to see a message from Tater waiting for him. Less surprisingly, however, Shitty had left him a few messages as well. Slowly making his way to where Eric was waiting for him, he read over the messages his friends had sent him.

**Tater:** Zimmboni!! Marty and Thirdy want me to check in and see how you are doing )))

 **Tater:** Hope the trip is good, we tell you was going to be fun right?

 **Jack:** Yeah, it’s going well. Tell them I’m having fun

While he waited for Tater to respond, he switched over to look at what Shitty had sent him.

**Shitty:** Jackabelle!! How’s that cruise goin so far?

 **Shitty:** I know your WiFi is probably shit but you can’t go off the grid from your bestie, bro!

 **Shitty:** Whatevs text me when you see this Jackie boy

 **Jack:** Hey Shits. It’s going well, sorry I can’t talk too much

He was a bit shocked by how quickly Shitty responded, only taking a few seconds for the little grey bubble to appear. Usually, Shitty would still be asleep at this time. Unless he never went to sleep in the first place, which would actually make a lot more sense.

**Shitty:** JACK

 **Shitty:** MY BEAUTIFUL CANADIAN MOOSE WITH AN EVEN BEAUTIFULLER CANADIAN CABOOSE

 **Jack:** Haha. Hi Shitty

 **Shitty:** Bro tell me all about it I need the deets 

**Shitty:** You gotta tell me what you’ve been up to

 **Shitty:** Bet you’re bored as hell out there in the middle of the ocean without your best bro to keep you company

Jack paused for a minute, stepping to the side against a wall, knowing that if Shitty was up, it would take a minute before he’d be able to give his attention to Bittle. And the last thing he wanted, if he was being serious with himself, was to keep his attention off of Eric.

**Jack:** It’s been good. Went to the beach a couple days ago

 **Shitty:** THE B E A C H ??? You’re telling me that you, Jack, went to the beach… Willingly???

 **Jack:** Well not completely willingly

 **Shitty:** ???

 **Jack:** I met a guy

 **Shitty:** Again, ??? Jack, bro, my main homie, d e e t s

Jack figured he could continue his search for Eric, knowing he could shut the conversation down if he needed to. One of the things he could appreciate about Shitty was his respect for other people’s privacy when requested. Emphasis on ‘when requested,’ however.

**Jack:** His name’s Eric, we met on the first day. He’s been keeping me company

 **Shitty:** Keeping you company hmmm ;)))

 **Jack:** Shut up, Shits

 **Shitty:** You didn’t deny it

 **Jack:** No comment

 **Shitty:** HOLY SHIT I WAS JUST KIDDING ARE YOU SERIOUS

Jack flushed slightly, realizing that he could have played it along as a joke but didn’t realize it. Well, if there was anyone he knew he could talk to about this it was Shitty.

**Jack:** Nothing like that, Shits

 **Shitty:** But you like him right? You want it to be *like that* right?

 **Jack:** …

 **Jack:** Yes.

 **Shitty:** HAHA THAT’S MY BOY

Jack rolled his eyes, smiling slightly at his best friend’s messages. He typed exactly as he talked, but it was comforting in an odd way. Before responding, Jack scanned the area for a sight of Eric and found him sitting at a small table against one of the big windows sipping at his coffee. 

**Jack:** Yes and now I have to go eat breakfast with him

 **Shitty:** OMG send a pic

Jack chewed at the inside of his lip. Eric hadn’t noticed him yet, as Jack was standing a ways away and Eric was busy looking out the window. He could have easily sent one of the pictures he’d taken the days previous, but Jack decided to pull up his camera and take a picture of Eric just as he was to send to Shitty.

**Shitty:** Oooooh he’s cute

 **Shitty:** I’ll let you go Jack-o but this isn’t over, I want deets later

 **Shitty:** Go get your boy ;)))

He found himself rolling his eyes once more.

**Jack:** See you later Shits

Noting that Tater hadn’t responded yet, Jack turned off his phone and finally made his way over to Eric. He cleared his throat before sitting, warning the man that he was there. Eric jumped slightly in surprise at Jack’s sudden appearance but turned a sunny smile on him, setting his coffee mug down on the table.

“Morning, Eric,” Jack offered with a small smile in greeting. He picked up his fork, going for a piece of the watermelon in his bowl.

“Good morning, Jack.” Eric still had that grin on his face and Jack had to try not to choke on his fruit. “How’d you sleep?”

It was a completely innocent question, but Jack couldn’t help the slight blush that rose to his cheeks as he recalled how he was kept up thinking about the man before him. He’d sworn he could have felt the warmth of Eric’s lips on his cheek even after he’d gotten back to his room, and the memory of them hadn’t seemed to want to leave him for hours. The smile that the kiss had left him with had lasted just as long.

Swallowing his food as well as his blush, he answered. “Pretty well, you?”

“Oh just perfectly, thank you!” Eric smiled again, and Jack nodded in response before continuing to eat. Eric seemed to be done with the small-talk as well, digging into his own food.

They sat quietly for a while, working through their respective meals. Even though he’d gotten practically the same thing each day, Jack found the food just as good each time. He was definitely beginning to understand the appeal of cruise ship buffets.

“So,” Eric said, drawing Jack’s attention, “What’s on the agenda for today? I know you mentioned a lighthouse, and some ruins I think, but tell me a little more about what we’re doing today.”

Jack nodded before jumping into his explanation. “We can meet up to disembark around 9:30, we just have to meet up at the bus by 10. They’ll be parked just outside the port and I have all of the information so don’t worry about that.” Eric nodded, letting Jack continue. 

“We start at the north end of the island at the California Lighthouse, then go basically along the far coast to visit the Alto Vista Chapel, Bushiribana Ruins, and Natural Bridge,” Jack listed, checking each location off on his fingers, “Then we end at the Casibari Rock Formations and we ride back to the port. I was thinking we could maybe get lunch in the city after that? I’m sure there are lots of places, but you can pick if you want. I think you know food a little better than me.” 

Jack finished, looking back at Eric. The man had a slightly shocked look on his face but a smile on his lips. Jack blushed again, for what was probably the fifth time that morning, not expecting to have gone off on such a rant.

“Well,” Eric said with an encouraging smile, covering Jack’s hand with his, both resting on the table, “It sounds like a pretty exciting day.” Jack gave a slight nod, smiling back.

“And I will gladly pick our lunch. If there’s any way to learn about another culture or country, it’s through food. That much I’ve learned while working on my degree.” Eric squeezed Jack’s hand before taking it back, Jack chuckling lightly at his words.

They continued to eat, and Jack asked Eric to explain his studies a little more. He’d heard plenty about Eric’s team and his friends, but not a whole lot about what he was actually studying.

“So it’s technically American Studies, but only because it had the most food courses. There were like one or two outside of that, but they were more focused on things outside of the States. So still interesting but not like pies and muffins, right?” Bitty chuckled a little bit before continuing. “You know, I managed to get myself into a senior course my sophomore year? Bribery pies work, Mr. Zimmermann, I’ll tell you that,” Eric said with a wink before putting his fork back to his lips.

He smiled. Of course Eric would do that, it seemed right in his nature, Jack thought. He briefly thought about what he would have done if he’d chosen to go to college. Definitely a history degree, if the lectures he tried to attend every once in a while told him anything. He’d be willing to bet he and Eric would have gotten along well in school together.

They quickly finished up their breakfasts, Eric continuing to tell Jack a bit more about the class he’d snuck himself into, and agreed to meet on the first deck about half an hour later. They waved each other goodbye at the elevators, as had become customary for them, and made their individual ways. 

Jack was only slightly disappointed to leave without another cheek kiss.

. . **.**. .

Bitty finished packing up his bag, double-checking that he had everything he needed. Phone? Check. Sunglasses? Check. Wallet? Check. Longing for Jack Zimmermann? Undeniably, check.

Eric sighed, flopping backward onto his bed, eyes closed. He still got the squirming, butterfly feeling in his stomach every time he thought about Jack. He bit his lip, holding back a smile, remembering his actions from the night previous. 

It had been a weird moment of bravery for Bitty, kissing Jack’s cheek like he did, and it could have ended so awkwardly. It was one thing to hint at feelings by holding hands, he thought, but another entirely to make them so clear. However, it hadn’t ended badly at all. 

No, Jack had kissed his hand as well, the memory of it renewing the sparks that had danced up his arm. Bitty sighed again, holding his hand to his chest and feeling hopelessly, helplessly, gay. Good Lord, he really was acting like such a cliché, lounging about and sighing over a man.

As much as he secretly loved being so dramatic, he still had places to be -places to be with said man, no matter- and forced himself back off of the bed. He slung his bag over his shoulder, triple checking its contents for everything he would need, and made his way out the door.

It was only one floor down from him, but Bitty still needed to make his way to midship from forward to actually leave the ship. It was exciting, getting to do something spontaneous that he hadn’t even planned in the first place. He’d thought it a bit ridiculous when Jack invited him along, and he didn’t buy Jack’s excuse of an extra ticket for a second, but he’d still agreed to it in the end.

Eric hadn’t actually had _any_ plans for what to do on each island, and surely hadn’t planned any tours like Jack had. They probably wouldn’t have fit into his budget, being a practically broke college student and all that. He hadn’t even technically paid for the cruise, and all Ransom and Holster had won was a spot on the ship and not much else. 

Really, all he’d thought to do was to wander around without much of an aim to see what he could find. Of course, he had to check out the food on the island, but other than that, walking around the port city and maybe stopping in some shops was the rest of his meager ‘plan.’

Of course, Jack was already in the disembarking area when Eric got down there. He didn’t look much different than usual, still dressed in plain shorts and a t-shirt with a baseball cap tilted low over his face, but he did have what looked like a nice, black camera hanging from a strap around his neck. Bitty smiled at the way Jack hovered a protective hand over the camera yet was still thumbing nervously at the edge of it.

He approached Jack with a smile on his face, earning one in return as he came into Jack’s line of sight. Neither of them spoke for a moment, Jack’s fingers stilling on the black matte of the camera and Bitty adjusting the strap of his bag over his shoulder.

Eventually, Jack shrugged his shoulder toward the exit with a deep “Shall we?” Eric nodded, a small, excited grin on his face. They both walked in step to the crew member manning the exit desk, quickly scanning their keycards and making their way down the gently sloping gangway onto the port.

“Um, I think we’re supposed to meet on the other side over there,” Jack said, pointing down the concrete walkway and past a nondescript white building. With the way the rest of the crowd was beginning to filter in through the building, Bitty assumed it was some kind of security checkpoint.

“Well,” Eric said, turning his grin up at Jack, “Let’s get going then!” Jack ducked his head, nodding and smiling, and they continued their way down the port walkway.

Bitty was right in his assumption of the building being a security checkpoint, though it was more the kind of thing that was needed upon returning to the port. Plenty of people were bustling around trying to make their ways out into the city, so he tried to keep close to Jack and let the taller man guide them through the crowd. Their hands bumped together gently, and Eric couldn’t help himself from running a teasing pinky from Jack’s wrist bone down the edge of his hand. He noticed Jack side-eyeing him, the smallest smile on his lips. Bitty simply smiled innocently back up at Jack, acting as if he hadn’t done anything.

Jack shook his head in silent laughter, giving Bitty’s hand a very deliberate bump. He didn’t do anything more than that, being as they were much more public than in an empty elevator lobby, but Eric still knew what Jack was trying to say. He’d have held Eric’s hand if he could.

Despite just being in it, the sunlight was bright against his eyes once Bitty stepped out of the cruise terminal. He noticed a small row of white buses parked a little way to their left and Jack started guiding him in their direction. He’d said the tour wouldn’t officially start until ten, but it was best to get to the bus a bit earlier than that.

Jack stopped in front of the second bus, the tour company clearly marked with a placard in the large windshield. He had his phone out, showing their tickets to the tour guide, Anita, as her name tag stated, standing near the bus’ door. Quickly, she smiled and gestured for them to get on.

There were already a few people filling the seats, a small family of four seated near the middle, and two older ladies sitting together a few rows behind the driver. Jack and Bitty walked down the aisle, eventually sliding into a pair of seats a little behind the family, almost at the back. Jack gestured for Eric to sit first, allowing him the window seat with a kind smile.

He brushed past Jack with a small ‘Thank you’ before settling into the seat. Jack sat down beside him, resting his camera in his lap as Bitty set his bag down on the floor in front of himself. Eric leaned his elbow on the edge of the window and closed his eyes, breathing in to calm his excitement, missing the soft smile Jack had on his face as he watched Bitty instead.

Soon, the rest of the tour group filled the bus with around twenty total. As the bus started to move, a woman’s voice came over the little speakers. “Hi everyone! I am Anita, and I will be your tour guide for this morning!” Her voice was lightly accented, but she sounded excited and happy to be with them and Eric immediately liked her.

“Our driver today is George, and he’ll be taking us all around while I tell you about it! First, we’ll start making our way to the California Lighthouse at the northern point of the island!” Eric turned and smiled to Jack, hoping his excitement showed on his face. Despite not being on his list of things to do, Bitty really was excited for this tour that Jack had invited him along on.

Jack smiled back down to Eric, noting the grin on his face. He felt his stomach grow warm at how pleased Eric looked, and Jack loved how he was partially responsible for it. They both turned their attention back to Anita as she continued to talk about some of the island’s history, noting any important buildings they passed on the street. 

It took about twenty minutes for their group to make it to the lighthouse, and Jack already felt like he was learning something new about the island every five minutes. They’d passed by an old aloe factory that was still open to that day, something he’d never even thought about before. He’d done a little bit of research on the island before the trip, and he wanted to pick up a book about it while they were there, but there was so much more to learn from a local than a quick review of one or two websites.

He stepped off of the bus following Eric and clutching his camera. There were a few other tourists there and multiple parked cars in the little dirt parking lot. The sun was bright, lighting up the stark white lighthouse and the blue ocean that stretched out a short distance beyond it.

Jack followed along with the rest of their group until Anita came to a stop a few feet away from the lighthouse on its shady side. They all gathered around her as she told them some of the history behind the lighthouse, explaining its namesake and the popularity of the view it provided. 

The group quickly dispersed, many leaving to find places to take photos and a few making their way for the entrance of the lighthouse. Jack noticed Eric beginning to look around, his back turned away. A sly grin spread to Jack’s face as he picked his camera up and set it up to take a few secret pictures of Eric.

Through the viewfinder, Eric looked as radiant as always. The sun seemed to never fail at putting a golden shine to his hair, and Jack couldn’t resist taking a few shots of him while his back was turned. He was just far enough away from Eric to fit his whole body in the frame and the distant ocean as his background.

After he satisfied his need for a couple of private photos, he called out to Eric. “Hey! Bits!” Eric turned around, a questioning look on his face for a split second before he rolled his eyes and a bright smile appeared on his face. He posed for Jack, resting his hands sassily on his hips and jutting one leg out.

“You takin’ pictures of me, Mr. Zimmermann?” He called out teasingly after Jack had taken a few pictures. Jack straightened up, lowering his camera, as Eric started walking back towards him.

“Maybe,” Jack said in response, grinning cheekily. Eric only rolled his eyes again before tugging on Jack’s arm.

“Then at least get some with the actual lighthouse in the shot, silly.” Eric walked to stand on the opposite side of the lighthouse so the sun shone off of him. He waved with his hands, indicating for Jack to back up and frame the photos.

He went willingly, walking backward until he was right up against the edge of the bushes that lined the area. Jack looked through the camera again, lining the shot up so both Eric and the lighthouse were in proper view. He let Eric pose however he liked, most of them more funny than serious and bringing a smile to Jack’s face every time he moved.

Eventually, he started walking back toward Jack, pulling out his phone as he did so. Jack lowered his camera again, waiting for Eric to come to a stop in front of him. “Let’s get one together, then you let me take a few of you.” 

Jack began to protest, but he sighed in acceptance at the look on Eric’s face. The blond grinned, knowing he’d won without even saying anything, and turned his phone around for a selfie. Jack looked into the little black camera, putting a shy smile on his face next to Eric’s shining grin. 

Eric dropped his arm down and started shooing Jack toward the lighthouse. He offered up his camera, but Eric quickly denied it. “I wouldn’t even know how to work that thing, but I can do wonders with a phone.” Jack looked skeptical but stopped when Eric told him to, feeling awkward as he stood.

“Okay, Jack, that’s great,” Bitty said, a teasing lilt in his voice, “Now just look like you’re an actual human who wants to be here and less like a mannequin.” Jack pursed his lips at the chirp but tried to arrange himself in a more natural-looking position. It seemed to please Eric enough, as he got no more chirps.

“Okay, now, Jack, stand like you’re leaning on the lighthouse.” Jack scoffed at Eric’s request, shooting him a look of indignance.

“Seriously?” He shouted back, crossing his arms.

“Yes seriously! I’m the photographer so you do what I say!” Jack chuckled at Eric’s self-assuredness.

“Don’t think that’s how it works, bud!” He shook his head more but positioned himself to appease Eric. If this was what the man wanted, Jack could hardly refuse him. He listened to Eric’s adjustments as he shouted them at Jack until Eric was satisfied with his shot.

Jack stood for a moment, feeling slightly ridiculous, until Eric was putting his phone away in his pocket and walking back toward him. He quickly dropped his fake leaning pose and joined Eric at his side.

They walked around for a little while longer, Anita having given their group twenty or so minutes to look around. It was bright and hot out but the ocean in the distance looked beautiful. Jack and Eric stuck close together, close enough where their arms brushed as they walked, poking their heads into the little restaurant nearby and in the doorway of the lighthouse.

Waiting for the rest of the group to finish up, Jack and Bitty sat down on some nearby rocks to look over their pictures. It was hard to see some of them with the way the sun was glaring off of their screens, but they could still make out most of the photos. Eric promised to send Jack his pictures later when they were back on the ship.

With Anita wrangling the last of their group together, they reboarded the bus to make their way down the northwestern coast to the Alto Vista Chapel. Like before, their guide told them little tidbits of information as it became relevant, yet saved the information about the next location until the group got there.

The ride was another twenty minutes or so, giving Jack the time to examine his pictures a little more closely. He flicked through all of them, saving the best ones. When he came to the shots of Eric with his back turned, he tilted the screen slightly more away from Eric to avoid him seeing. Maybe it was a little weird to be taking secret pictures of him, but Jack found it hard to feel too bad when he looked so beautiful in them.

He turned off his camera quickly after, stowing it in his lap.

The bus stopped soon, the tour group quickly making their way back outside. As Eric passed in front of Jack, the taller man being such a gentleman and letting him go first again, he grinned up at him. He hadn’t expected a technical history lesson to be such fun, but Bitty was having a great time. 

The lighthouse had been smaller than he’d expected, but it still had some beauty to it. Plus, it had been fun just walking around and taking pictures with Jack. Bitty knew that he’d been looking forward to taking his camera out, he’d mentioned as such, though Eric hadn’t expected him to spend most of the time taking pictures off him.

Stepping off of the bus, Bitty giggled quietly at how he’d teased Jack. He never meant it maliciously, and he was sure Jack knew that, but he couldn’t stop himself at the cute blush it always brought to Jack’s face.

Picking up his pace to gather with the rest of the group, Eric finally noticed the little chapel backed up against a short stone wall. It really was a little thing. It was short and just wide enough to fit two rows of benches inside with pale yellow walls and a tiled roof. 

He heard Jack come up behind him as Anita started to tell them about the little chapel. It seemed to have a little more history behind it than the lighthouse. She told them all how it had been originally built in the 1750s by Spanish pioneers but had grown ignored when a plague hit the town and a larger church was built. It was restored in the 1950s by a local schoolmistress and had been open ever since. 

When she finished her history lesson, she encouraged the group to step inside the chapel then take the short walk to the peace labyrinth. Eric turned around to face Jack, knocking his head in the direction of the chapel. Jack smiled, nodding his head, and they walked the rest of the distance to the large wooden doors that fronted the building.

The inside was telling of its age, but it had a special charm to it. The white and black tiled floor definitely told of an older time, but the blues and yellows of the walls inside brought an air of openness and peacefulness to the little space. It was mostly empty, spare a few individuals who sat in the benches praying. They were mindful of the people already inside, standing at the back quietly to take in the room.

Eric used his phone to take a picture from the doorway, Jack doing the same so as not to disturb the others inside with the sounds of his camera. They stayed a moment longer before stepping back outside into the sun. They walked a bit further away before speaking.

“Wasn’t that place so cute? I don’t even know what it was, but it felt so peaceful. Definitely different than any church I’ve been to, that’s for sure.” Eric said. Jack nodded in agreement.

“Yeah, it’s nice. Kind of sad how it was abandoned for so long.” They stood quietly for another moment before Jack spoke up again. “You want to go check out that labyrinth?” 

“Sure,” Eric smiled sweetly at him. Jack took the lead, making his way toward another cluster of people in the short distance. The labyrinth, as it turned out, was a little round maze of stones and sand near the edge of the land. 

The small group they’d seen was just leaving, heading back toward the chapel. Bitty pulled out his phone for a quick picture of the empty labyrinth before he started walking down one of the paths of it. He turned his head to see Jack standing at the entrance, watching him with a soft look on his face, camera at the ready in his hands.

“You coming?” He called out. 

Jack raised his camera in response. “Yeah, in a minute.” Bitty shook his head in a small laugh, continuing to make his way through the rounding paths until he stood at the center. He faced Jack, who had his camera up to his face, and smiled. He stood with his thumbs tucked into the pockets of his shorts, hoping he made for a good picture.

He must have satisfied Jack enough, as the man quickly lowered his camera and started walking through the labyrinth himself. He soon came to a stop next to Bitty and they both looked around at the tall plants and rocks surrounding them. The ocean stretched out behind them as well, as far as the eye could see.

Just like the last stop, they wandered around for a while after leaving the small labyrinth. Jack took some more pictures of the sea, standing close to the edge of the land they were on. Bitty admired him as he worked with his camera, just as he’d done the night previous. It was easier to see the features of his face in broad daylight, yet he’d looked no less beautiful in the moonlight.

There was a slight breeze coming off of the water that ruffled the tufts of bangs poking out from under his hat. Jack watched through his camera with an intense eye that made Eric’s heart beat faster for an indescribable reason. He found it hard to look Jack directly in the face without blushing for a while after that, avoiding his gaze until they were back on the bus.

The rest of the tour seemed to fly by quickly. Their next stop was the last true historical site, the last two being a few natural formations that doubled as popular tourist sites. Standing in front of the piles of stone and crumbling building that made up the Bushiribana Ruins, Anita regaled them with the story of Aruba’s gold rush. The ruins were an old gold mill that had been in use for roughly ninety years, providing nearly three million pounds of the stuff.

Of course, Jack and Bitty took plenty more pictures around the site of the ruins. They both thought it was the coolest looking spot by far. There was something so interesting about exploring such an old space, and they both loved it. Though, Jack more for the history and Bitty for the aesthetic and concept of the place.

By the end of their twenty minutes there, both Jack’s camera and Bitty’s phone were filled with shots of them around the ruins. There were a few of Bitty in the window, Jack in the doorway, and plenty of both of them on the inside and outside of the crumbling building.

The bus was a welcome reprieve from the sun, cooling them off quickly as the group made their way a few more minutes down the coast to the natural bridge.

As it turned out, the original bridge had collapsed years before, however, a smaller one still stood. Even if there wasn’t the actual bridge, the rocky beach and cliffside made for some nice pictures. It was the closest they’d been to the ocean that day, and the water made for a few more beautiful shots.

Their last stop before returning to the port was the Casibari Rock Formations, an oddly shaped cluster of boulders. Again, there wasn’t much to do other than take some photos, but that didn’t bother Eric nor Jack too much. The sun had tired them out and they were both ready for lunch, the tour having lasted until around one. 

As the tour wrapped up, Anita saying her final well wishes, the group headed back into the port town of Oranjestad. Once stopped back at the port, Jack and Bitty headed off of the bus along with the rest of the group, thanking Anita and tipping her nicely.

“So,” Eric said, adjusting his bag on his shoulder, “You mentioned lunch?” Jack looked up from where he was fiddling with his camera, chuckling. 

“Yeah, you want to go walk around a bit?” Bitty agreed, and the two made off onto the street on a search for lunch. There were plenty of options, numerous restaurants packed in along the streets among the various stores and shops.

They ended up at a little seafood restaurant already teeming with patrons but with what looked like enough room to accommodate a couple more. It was small and homey and smelled of pan-fried fish and spices. Jack looked over the menu while they waited, filing the blackened fish tacos for later.

Bitty read over the options as well, leaning into Jack’s arm to look at the same little paper menu. He could have gotten his own to read, but Jack already had one out so no need to grab another, he told himself.

Soon, they were able to be seated, a waiter quickly stopping at their table to take drink orders. The restaurant was filled with conversation, yet it was still easy to hold their own while they awaited the return of the server. Bitty slid his phone over the table to show Jack some of the pictures he’d gotten in better lighting, Jack doing the same with his camera.

“I don’t know how, but you better get those pictures to me, Mister,” Eric said. “Those are beautiful, you have a talent, Jack.”

Jack blushed slightly at the compliment and ducked his head. “Ah, no, um, I think it’s just the subject who’s beautiful.” Jack felt his face grow hotter at his statement. He looked up carefully at Eric, who was biting his lip in a smile with his own pink tinge to his cheeks.

“Well, you sure know how to make me look good then.”

They talked about the photos and the tour that day a little more until the waiter returned to take their orders. Jack went for the blackened fish tacos he’d noted earlier, and Bitty a fried fish sandwich. They chatted for a while longer until their food arrived, eating in mostly silence thereafter. 

Jack tried to pay for their food at the end, but Eric reminded him that he’d promised to let him get their next lunch. He relented eventually, much to Bitty’s pleasure.

They quickly stepped out of the restaurant onto the street, noting the time on Eric’s phone. The meal had passed quickly, ending around two in the afternoon. Jack stood with his hands in his pockets while Eric fiddled with something in his bag.

The blond man looked up at him, pushing his familiar sunglasses onto his face. “You wanna poke around a bit before heading back?” Jack nodded quickly and they started to make their way down the street further into the town. Most of the shops along the streets near the port were targeted towards tourists, which were perfect for Jack and Bitty.

They popped into a few different ones mostly just to look around, not aiming to purchase anything. Jack did manage to find a thick guidebook about the countries that made up the Caribbean, which he bought while Eric admired some handmade wooden and glass figures the shop also sold.

Jack and Eric walked back outside, book tucked under Jack’s arm with his other bumping against Bitty’s. They looked in one more store before heading back to the ship, having spent about half an hour walking around. Eric talked while they walked, Jack content to listen and enjoy the feeling of being with him.

As it turned out, getting back onto the ship was a much longer ordeal than leaving it. The longest part was waiting to get through port security with so many other people trying to do the same. Eventually, though, they made it through and were able to check back onto the ship.

Eric suggested they drop their things in their rooms then meet back up and find something to do for the rest of the afternoon, to which Jack quickly agreed. 

Once he was back in his room, he set his book down on the bedside table and stowed his camera before pulling out his phone. He had a couple of messages that made up a response from Tater, and one more from Shitty asking about his afternoon. He began to type his response when his phone pinged with a text from Eric.

Jack opened the message and was met with a series of photos Eric had taken that day and a smiley face that ended the text. He smiled at it despite himself and saved all of the pictures. Returning to his thread with Shitty, he gave his friend a quick rundown of their day so far and sent a few of the pictures from Eric. 

In response, Jack’s phone buzzed with a series of suggestive emojis. It was too far fetched for him to hope Shitty could be proper for one minute, wasn’t it? Still, he couldn’t help but laugh at his best friend’s antics. 

He turned back to Eric’s thread and asked where he should meet him. Eric quickly responded, saying to meet by the soft-serve machines on the tenth deck. And also that his friends were super jealous, which Jack took to mean that he’d sent them some of the photos as well. A small part of his brain hoped that he looked good in whatever Eric had sent, wanting to make a good impression on his friends without even meeting them.

Jack shook the thoughts off, quickly heading for the door to meet back up with Eric.

Eric chuckled at the responses his pictures had garnered, mostly Ransom and Holster yelling again which had then turned to teasing about Ransom’s celebrity crush on Alexei Mashkov. He kept scrolling through the messages as he made his way to the top deck to meet with Jack, occasionally refreshing his twitter feed when things got quiet.

It was just as warm as it had been when they were walking around, but the abundance of shade on the ship’s decks was welcome. Bitty found Jack standing exactly where he’d suggested, looking as handsome and awkward as ever. It took everything in him not to swoon at the sight of him. 

“Hi, Jack!” Eric said with a smile. “Been a while, huh?” Jack chuckled lightly at his joke.

“Yeah, so long.” Bitty grinned up at him, happy that Jack was joking along with him.

“So I’m thinking we walk around a little and if we don’t find anything interesting, we can check the app for what’s going on?” Eric suggested.

They started walking before Jack even officially agreed. “Sure, sounds good.” Bitty gave a decisive nod of his head as they continued on. They made a loop around the bottom deck before climbing the stairs to the top deck, beginning another circle around.

When they came across the empty ping pong tables, Eric gave Jack a wicked grin. Jack raised his eyebrow in question but didn’t argue. Bitty considered it a win and picked up two paddles and a ball, passing one of the paddles to Jack.

They started the game casually, mostly just passing it back and forth as best as they could, but it quickly got as heated as their mini-golf game had gotten. Soon, the ball was being flung around hard and fast, both men showing off their competitive sides.

“Fuck off Jack! I would have gotten that! It was the wind!” Eric yelled as his ball hit his side of the net and bounced off, giving Jack the point. He deserved Eric’s strong words anyway, he had the audacity to laugh at him after all.

“Keep telling yourself that!” Jack shouted back, grinning at Eric’s frustration. They continued the game in the same intense fashion, fighting for the lead. Though, Bitty may have been more inclined to fight the wind instead. 

“Fine, fine Jack!” Eric said, tossing his paddle to the table, “You win! I give up.” Jack grinned walking around the table to join Eric on the other side.

He clapped a hand to Bitty’s shoulder, standing a little closer than was necessary for the move. “It’s alright Bits, can’t win every time,” Jack said, still smiling brightly. The cute faux-glare Eric shot him made it all the more worth it.

Jack stowed the ball and paddles back on the rack as Eric checked his phone, hoping to find something else for them to do. When Jack returned, he turned his phone around to show him what he’d found.

Jack read over the screen, huffing out a laugh. “Yeah, alright, let’s go.” 

The duo walked into the lower area of the forward stage. Some of the chairs had been moved to make room for some extra tables, all of them rearranged to form rows facing the front. There were a few other guests standing and sitting around a few of the tables, chatting to each other or scrolling on their phones. At the front, two of the ship’s crew members were talking to each other, waiting for the room to fill just a bit more.

Eric and Jack took residence at one of the empty tables. Each table had a couple full-sized and hand towels stacked at the end. Shortly after Jack and Bitty had entered, the crew members began speaking to their small crowd.

One of them, Stephan, after a short introduction, quickly delved into explaining the basics of towel folding. Once he began explaining how to start folding a stingray out of the larger towels on their tables, the second crew member, Marnie, began walking around to help out the guests. 

Both Jack and Eric struggled a little bit, but they weren’t the only ones, which made them feel a little bit better about it. By the end of Stephan’s instruction and multiple attempts at folding, both of them had something that somewhat resembled a stingray. They eyed their creations, giggling softly at the slightly misshapen creatures.

Jack took a picture of them both, sending it to Shitty. He quickly got a response, yelling about how cute they were and demanding that Jack do that with him sometime, in all caps with plenty of excess profanities. He showed Shitty’s response to Eric, getting the laugh out of it that he’d hoped for.

Moving on from the stingray, Stephan began explaining the second animal to them with his step-by-step instruction. Again, by the end, they both had something that looked almost like an elephant, if a bit lopsided. Jack sent that picture off to Shitty, getting a similar second response.

After one more animal, a turtle, the simple towel folding seminar was over, and Jack and Bitty had efficiently wasted an hour.

Exiting the room, Jack was hit by the familiar memory of walking the same path a couple of nights before. When Eric paused just before the elevators, he was experiencing some serious déjà vu. 

“Hey, Jack?” He drew his eyes down to Eric’s face, waiting for him to continue. “I’m feeling kind of wiped from today, so do you want to split up before dinner? I don’t know about you, but I could use a bit of a nap and a shower.” 

While Eric had been talking, Jack had leaned in closer, as he always seemed to do. “Yeah, sure,” he said softly, smiling gently. Eric grinned up at him.

Jack felt Eric’s hand wrap around his as the blond man took a step back. “Okay, great!” He said, squeezing Jack’s hand for a moment before letting it go. 

Eric continued walking toward the stairs, wiggling his fingers in a wave goodbye. Jack raised his hand in a small wave back, still feeling the soft smile on his face.

. . **.** . .

Eric threw his outfit together quickly, excited to get to dinner with Jack. They’d messaged a little bit before he’d started getting ready, mostly to confirm which restaurant they were going to meet at, but Bitty had suggested they watch a movie afterward. When he was looking over the afternoon activities earlier, he’d noticed a movie showing on the Lido deck starting at 9:30.

Dinner and a movie sounded so much like a date, and Eric desperately wanted it to be. He could hardly pretend it wasn’t anyway, they both knew how the other felt. 

Bitty grinned as he buttoned the top button on his shirt, running his hands down the front to flatten any errant creases. He slipped his shoes on, grabbed his keycard, and was out the door. He may have been a few minutes early, but Jack was always early so he doubted he’d even be the first one there. The one time he had been, he’d left specific time to do so.

He tried not to walk too quickly, attempting to keep a casual pace despite his excitement. It was a difficult feat, one he decided to ignore after about five seconds.

Once he was in front of the restaurant, he saw Jack standing against the wall as usual. He was right, of course, that Jack would be early. He stood there, looking as good as ever in his shirt and slacks combo. It reminded Bitty of their first meal together, with the way he was dressed. The rolled-up sleeves really did do a number to show off Jack’s forearms, which was not something Eric had ever thought he’d be so attracted to.

“Hey, Eric,” Jack said as Bitty came up to him. “Ready?” Eric smiled and nodded his head. Usually, it took a minute before they headed in, but it seemed like Jack was as excited as him.

They were led to their seats, a table in the center of the dining area this time. While Bitty loved the intimate feel of the wall tables, it was nice to have Jack’s face in full view with the brighter lights of the central dining room. 

Dinner that night felt both heavier and lighter than usual, which Eric hoped meant Jack was thinking of their meals more like dates too. Their conversation came as easy as always yet it felt laced with something else. It always felt more charged later in the evening, making their dinners something Eric looked forward to every day.

Their meal went by quickly, Eric’s mind focusing on Jack more than the food, though the food was still good. He knew he was looking forward to what was to follow their meal though, which was the more likely culprit of Eric’s distraction. Movies meant sitting close together in the dark, which Eric hoped also meant he would get to hold Jack’s hand some more.

Lord, was he really getting that worked up over holding a boy’s hand? He was kind of pathetic, wasn’t he? Eric rolled his eyes at himself, forcing his focus back on Jack for the rest of the meal.

By the time their dinner had ended, there was still about half an hour until the movie was scheduled to start. As they walked out of the restaurant, Jack bumped Eric’s arm with his elbow. 

“You think we should head up? We have time, but there’ll be more seats if we’re early,” Jack said when Eric looked up at him. He nodded, muttering a small ‘sure’ in response.

The Lido deck was set up mostly like usual, but the bright lights that usually stayed on until later in the evening had been turned lower and stacks of soft-looking blankets had been placed at each entrance. Some different seats had been pulled out on the top deck as well, ones that looked like they could fit two people instead of one.

“Let’s go up to the higher deck, yeah? Better um, view,” Jack said, sounding somewhat nervous. Eric nodded, smirking to himself knowing that Jack had noticed the different seats as well.

They walked up to the upper deck and headed for one of the seats, Jack on one side with Eric on the other. They sat quietly like that, conversing occasionally until the movie began to play.

Both of them were nervous at first, slowly trying to relax, but Eric decided to take the plunge and break the tension when he noticed Jack’s hand resting between their thighs. He tucked his hand underneath Jack’s, lacing their fingers together and earning a small smile from Jack. Really, for all their flirting in the daytime, they were both as nervous as each other to make their feelings known physically.

As the movie continued to play, Eric only half watching, he slowly moved closer to Jack. He was almost pressed up against Jack’s side, their hands squished between their legs, before he leaned his head onto Jack’s shoulder. Eric heard Jack’s small, surprised gasp, but noted that he didn’t try to move away.

They sat like that for a moment until Eric felt Jack shifting his arm from its position behind his back. Jack pulled his arm out, gingerly resting it across Eric’s shoulders. Bitty grinned to himself at Jack’s move and pressed in closer.

By the end of the movie, which neither of them had paid attention to, Eric was tucked up against Jack’s side with his hand resting on Jack’s stomach and Jack’s hand curled around his back. His thumb brushed against the skin on Eric’s lower back, under his shirt, which had come untucked at some point. 

They were both so focused on the other that they hardly even realized the movie had ended, and neither of them really wanted to move. It was a few more minutes until Eric sat up, stretching his back out and smiling softly at Jack. They both got up reluctantly, beginning to slowly make their way back down and inside to the elevators.

By the time they were inside the lobby, most of the crowd had dispersed and the area was empty. Jack and Eric turned toward each other, leaving only a few inches of space between themselves.

“I think that’s the best date I’ve ever been on,” Eric said shyly, smiling softly up at Jack. The word ‘date’ rang in Jack’s ears. He’d hoped that’s what their dinners were turning into, and the confirmation of it from Bitty made his heart rate pick up.

“Eric…” Jack trailed off, leaning in slightly closer to him. 

Bitty’s tongue darted out to wet his lips. His mouth felt dry at how close Jack was to him. “Yeah, Jack?”

Jack swallowed around the knot in his throat, lifting his hand to Eric’s cheek. He brushed his thumb against Eric’s jaw and heard Eric’s breath hitch. “Can I…” He trailed his sentence off again but hoped Eric understood his question.

Eric nodded his head softly in response, not trusting his voice. It was all Jack needed, finally leaning down to press his lips to Bitty’s.

The kiss started out soft, a simple and gentle slide of their lips together. However, when Jack began to pull away, Eric surged up on his toes to catch Jack’s mouth again. The taller man wrapped one of his arms around Eric’s waist, the other traveling from his jaw and into his hair, as Bitty clutched at Jack’s shoulders, curling his fingers into Jack’s shirt.

Eric felt the slide of Jack’s tongue against his bottom lip and opened his mouth to meet it. Even as their kiss deepened, it still felt tender, and by far the best kiss of Eric’s life.

They stayed pressed together for a moment longer before parting, but not fully leaving each other’s space. They stood for a moment, breathless, as Jack gently brushed Eric’s bangs to the side. 

“You’re a really good kisser,” Eric said softly, face heating slightly at the words. Jack smiled at it, ducking his head to kiss the side of Eric’s head, right above his ear. 

“So are you,” he whispered, still stroking lightly at Bitty’s hair.

They stood for a moment, still pressed close together, before allowing some space between them. Eric dropped his hands from Jack’s shoulders, and Jack caught them in his instead.

“Thank you for tonight,” Eric said, looking up at Jack from under his lashes. He looked so good to Jack, face still flushed and hair slightly mussed. “It was really nice.”

“Yeah,” Jack said, rubbing Eric’s knuckles with his thumb, “It was.”

“Um, goodnight, Jack,” Eric said, still seeming shy despite his response to the kissing. He stood up on his toes once again, pecking Jack’s lips one last time before dropping Jack’s hands.

“Goodnight Eric,” Jack said, giving him a reassuring smile as he made his way toward the stairs. Eric sent him his own shy smile, nervously pushing his hair away from his face.

. . **.** . .

When he finally got back to his room, Eric flopped down onto his bed, a wild grin on his face. If he closed his eyes, he thought that he could still feel Jack’s lips on his or the way Jack’s stubble had scratched against his face. It was something he’d felt had been building up for days, and he could hardly get rid of the feeling it left in his chest, as well as some other places.

He pressed the heel of his palm against his crotch, already half-hard from the memory of Jack pressed up against him and kissing him. Eric bit his lip, deliberating for a moment, before unbuttoning his shorts and pushing them down to his thighs. He palmed over the bulge in his underwear, rubbing himself over the cloth for a minute before pulling them down and pushing them and his shorts all the way off his legs.

Eric grabbed the base of his cock, slowly stroking himself. He thumbed at the underside of the head, teasing himself until a bead of precum formed at the tip. He spread the drop around the tip, holding back his moans from the sensitive feeling.

Done with teasing himself, Eric moved his hand back to his shaft and continued to stroke over it. With his eyes closed, he imagined it was Jack touching him instead of himself. He tried to imagine Jack leaning over him, face and lips pressed into his neck, breathing heavily into his ear.

Eric felt himself approaching the edge embarrassingly quickly, yet he couldn’t bear to stop or slow down. Within what felt like seconds, he was coming with a debauched moan. He had to take a minute to catch his breath before feeling steady enough on his legs to clean himself up.

When Eric laid back down, this time dressed down for bed, he heard his phone buzz from its place on the nightstand. He picked it up quickly, smiling when he saw it was a message from Jack.

**Jack:** I had fun tonight :-)

 **Jack:** <3

Bitty had to hold back a squeal at how cute Jack was. He couldn’t hold back the happy little shimmy he did in his bed.

**Eric:** Me too :)))

 **Eric:** <3

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okie dokie friends! I need to do some more tourist research about our next destination, which will sadly be our final island visit. Don't fret though! We have two more days at sea to follow it, both of which I am mega hyped for.
> 
> Jack's search for an informational book is partially based on my mother who always tries to find something like that when she visits a new country/region.
> 
> In other news, good lord what is going on with hockey right now. 5OT?? Are we serious?? And of course, the Canes game got moved, went into overtime itself, and then we l o s t. Okay, that's okay though, I got a bunch of great Twitter memes out of it.
> 
> Okay, rant over, thanks always for your continued support!! See y'all soon with the next update B^)

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know if you caught any mistakes or errors! I don't have a beta, but maybe hmu if you'd like to? Thanks again!


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